La Liga

The on-again, off-again pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé is once again off, according to Spanish radio network Cadena SER (via Goal's Peter McVitie).

This comes after Madrid issued a statement addressing recent reports linking them with the French attacker.

"In view of the information recently published by various media outlets regarding alleged negotiations between the player Kylian Mbappé and our club, Real Madrid C.F. would like to state that this information is categorically false and that no such negotiations have taken place with any player belonging to PSG," the club said.

ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez wrote it was unclear which story Real Madrid was specifically denying. They cited a report from Marca about the club's interest in signing Mbappé in 2024. Diario AS went so far as to report on potential economic terms (a €35 million annual salary after tax).

This is the longest-running transfer saga in world football.

Reports in July 2017 had Real Madrid paying a world-record fee in order to sign Mbappé from AS Monaco, only for him to wind up at PSG. That did little to quell the speculation, which has only intensified the longer the 24-year-old has called Paris home.

Madrid was reportedly prepared to pay €200 million prior to the close of the 2021 window when Mbappé was entering the final year of his contract. He signed a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain in May 2022, only for rumors of his discontent to surface that October.

The newest development, along with Madrid's statement, might ultimately mean little.

Shortly after Mbappé signed his extension in 2022, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez downplayed his enthusiasm for the player, saying "this is not the Mbappé I wanted to bring, he is another one, who must have changed his dream." Sure enough, that didn't stop the hypothetical transfer from eventually returning to the fore.

If anything, Real Madrid's statement might have been intended to head off any alleged improprieties should the Spanish giant ever succeed in snagging the 2018 World Cup winner.

Liverpool famously had to abandon a move for Virgil van Dijk during the 2017 summer window due to potentially having had improper communication with the player. That merely delayed the inevitable, but it was a setback for both Van Dijk and Liverpool.

Real Madrid will avoid a similar mistake.

Barcelona club president Joan Laporta was formally charged with bribery in connection to the payments given to a Spanish refereeing official, according to Sam Wallace of the Telegraph.

The Guardian's Sid Lowe reported in February that Barcelona paid José María Enríquez Negreira more than €7 million over a period of 20 years. The money went to a company owned by Negreira.

Barça maintained the payments were for "technical reports related to professional refereeing" supplied by the company.

Prosecutors began a formal investigation into Barcelona in March, with multiple former club presidents implicated. Wallace detailed how the newest development creates what could be serious problems for Laporta.

"The bribery charge is much more serious for the 61-year-old, in his second spell as Barcelona president, because it carries a statute of limitations of 15 years rather than 10, as with the other four charges," he wrote. "That takes investigators back to 2008, to Laporta's first spell as president from 2003 to 2010."

The timing is less than ideal for Laporta as well with Barcelona's general meeting set to take place Saturday. Among other things, Barça's financial outlook is on the agenda and bound to face scrutiny.

This time last year, Laporta told supporters and club members that pulling a number of economic "levers" helped to stabilize Barcelona's finances. In effect, the club sacrificed long-term revenue in order to attain a short-term cash injection.

However, Barça reportedly still have outstanding debts of €207 million, and Wallace said Laporta and club officials could present what is a "a bleak financial future."

"Barcelona's finance vice-president, Eduard Romeu, told members on Wednesday that the club were still waiting for a key €40 million (£35 million) payment from an investor," he said. "German football financier Libero has delayed its initial payment for a €200 million investment in Barca Media, a digital offering specialising in non-fungible tokens, which the club still hope to take public on the Nasdaq stock exchange."

Now that he himself is included in the bribery investigation, Laporta could force more pointed questions from Barcelona members.

Barcelona is being charged with suspected bribery for allegedly paying more than €7 million to companies linked to former refereeing committee vice president José María Enríquez Negreira, according to ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

Former Barcelona presidents Josep María Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell and Negreira and his son, Javier Enríquez Romero, are also being charged with suspected bribery, according to ESPN.

A complaint was initially filed against Barcelona, the club's former presidents and Negreira in Spanish court in March, and an investigation was opened into the alleged payments. The club was previously charged with "alleged corruption in sport, corruption in business, false administration and the falsification of commercial documents," according to ESPN.

Spanish police raided the Spanish Technical Committee of Referees headquarters on Thursday as part of the investigation into the alleged payments after documentation it requested was not sent, according to BBC Sport.

Barcelona allegedly paid companies linked to Negreira more than €7 million between 2001 and 2018 while he was the vice president of the refereeing committee after previously serving as a referee in La Liga.

Barcelona's former presidents and Negreira allegedly had an agreement stating "he would carry out actions aimed at favoring Barca in the decision-making of the referees in the matches played by the club and thus in the results of the competitions."

Bartomeu served as president of the club from 2014 until he resigned from his position in 2020. Rosell was at the helm from 2010 to 2014.

The club's current president, Joan Laporta, was elected to replace Bartomeu in 2021. He has previously stated that the payments to Negreira's companies were for "technical reports about referees."

Laporta has also denied that Barcelona has ever bought off referees.

"You know my opinion," Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez said Thursday. "I have never had the feeling that the club have benefitted from refereeing. Never.

"I don't have time to reflect on much more than that, I'm focused on sporting issues. Next week there will be another Negreira story, in 15 days another and then more a month."

Barcelona currently sit third in La Liga with a 5-2-0 record behind Girona and Real Madrid.

Real Madrid are aiming for a different outcome in their pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé this summer.

ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez reported Madrid "remain cautious" but "are also hopeful" a transfer materializes.

Kirkland and Faez added that club officials aren't expected to let the negotiations play out in public again after last year's attempts to lure Mbappé away from the French capital failed.

Real Madrid already executed the biggest move of the summer window by signing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund for an initial fee of £88.5 million.

Club has also added Fran García, Joselu and Brahim Díaz, with Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema exiting the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Kirkland and Faez wrote Madrid "has left vacant the No. 9 shirt" Benzema once occupied because the door to sign Mbappé has yet to close for good ahead of the 2023-24 season.

The 24-year-old indicated to PSG officials earlier this month he won't trigger the player option in his contract for 2024-25. As a result, he could potentially leave on a free transfer in another year and sign a pre-contract agreement as early as January 2024.

As a state-owned club, Paris Saint-Germain doesn't have to worry about finances as much as others do. Still, forgoing a nine-figure transfer fee would be a bold call. ESPN's Julien Laurens reported the reigning Ligue 1 champion is "open to listening to offers" and that €150 million could be the estimated asking price.

The list of clubs that can fund a transfer of that size is small, and the list of clubs for whom Mbappé would want to play is even smaller. Real Madrid checks both boxes, and the dynamic Frenchman "wants to sign," per Kirkland and Faez.

We've been down this road before, so nothing is guaranteed. But all of the signs so far point to Real Madrid finally landing the one player it covets more than any other.

Lionel Messi will be joined by a familiar face at Inter Miami CF.

The club announced the signing of midfielder Sergio Busquets, who was a teammate of Messi's with Barcelona.

Busquets has been with Barcelona since 2008 and suited up for 481 La Liga games with the club, scoring 11 goals. This will be the first time in his senior career that he has played with a different club. He was a teammate of Messi's with Barcelona for 13 years.

Busquets, who is also a member of Spain's national team, is a close friend of Messi's and had announced that he would be leaving Barcelona in May. He was rumored to be mulling a move to Saudi Arabia, but mirrors the move from his former teammate in going to Miami.

Jordi Alba, another Barcelona teammate of Busquets and Messi, also is a potential target for Inter Miami, so the pipeline may not be dry just yet.

The 34-year-old's contract has not yet been disclosed, although the length is reportedly two-years. A debut for him has not been announced, but with Messi's reported debut being July 21st, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Busquets could be with him.

Inter Miami FC is currently 5-0-12 and in last place in MLS.

Barcelona took a not-so-subtle shot at MLS after Lionel Messi pledged his future to Inter Miami on Wednesday.

Barça said Messi's father and representative, Jorge, reached out to club president Joan Laporta on Monday to personally confirm his son wouldn't be signing a contract with them this summer. From there, the statement took a bit of a turn.

"President Laporta understood and respected Messi's decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years," Barcelona said.

Messi told Sport and Mundo Deportivo (via The Athletic's Pol Ballús) on Wednesday he had hoped to reunite with Barcelona, but too many uncertainties remained due to the club's financial situation.

"I wanted to come back, but at the same time with the way I left the club, I did not want to find myself in the same situation, which was waiting for whatever can happen and leave my future to someone else's hands," he said.

La Liga president Javier Tebas laid out in March how the league wouldn't relax its rules to allow for Barça to more easily sign a star such as Messi. The club needs to balance its books before it can formally offer any new contracts, and that means generating as much as €200 million through a combination of player sales and cost-savings.

That always made it tough to see how Messi could realistically wind up back in Catalonia.

Barcelona's statement leaned into the long-running perception that MLS is a "retirement league" where aging stars can cash a big paycheck while doing a fraction of the work.

But Barça only have themselves to blame for this situation.

The father of Lionel Messi said the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner would like to return to Barcelona this summer.

"Of course, he would love to return to Barcelona," Jorge Messi said, according to ESPN's Adriana Garcia. "I would like it too. We will see."

The comments came after Jorge met with Barcelona president Joan Laporta, per Spanish journalist Toni Juanmartí.

Paris Saint-Germain announced Saturday that Messi was leaving the club following the end of the 2022-23 season.

When it comes to a Barcelona reunion, the feeling is mutual.

"The priorities are very clear, I would really like Messi to return," manager Xavi Hernandez said leading up to Sunday's 2-1 loss to Celta Vigo.

"[Messi] knows that, and I have spoken with him. From there, Leo aside, the other priority is a midfielder [to replace Sergio Busquets] in the ideal scenario."

At issue is whether Barça will have the financial capacity to sign the 35-year-old.

In April, La Liga president Javier Tebas said the league won't relax any of its financial rules to accommodate Messi's return. As a result, Barcelona would need to balance the books by €200 million in order to secure new signings.

French newspaper L'Equipe (via Samuel Draper of the Daily Mail) reported on May 31 that Barcelona might join forces with MLS club Inter Miami on a Messi deal. Inter Miami would sign him and loan him to Barça for 18 months, thus allowing the Catalan giant to bypass the financial hurdles.

A move to the Saudi Pro League has been rumored as well. Messi is already a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia, and the riches on offer there far exceed what he can make anywhere else in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly getting $75 million per year after signing with Al-Nassr.

Barcelona's massive level of debt basically forced Messi to leave during the summer of 2021. Perhaps the same story will play out again.

Assuming the Argentine star prefers to call Camp Nou home again, you'd expect he and the club to find a way to make it happen, though.

French star Karim Benzema will leave Real Madrid this summer and is expected to sign with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad, according to ESPN's Julien Laurens and Alex Kirkland.

Sky Italy's Gianluca Di Marzio reported the 35-year-old will make his decision official Thursday.

Laurens reported Tuesday that Al-Ittihad was prepared to offer Benzema €400 million over two seasons, matching the contract Cristiano Ronaldo signed with Al-Nassr.

Benzema signed for Real Madrid during the 2009 summer transfer window, and his arrival coincided with the return of a Galácticos era at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Along with Benzema, Madrid brought in Ronaldo, Kaká and Xabi Alonso in 2009, while Ángel Di María and Mesut Özil joined in 2010. Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale, James Rodríguez and Toni Kroos were among the notable stars who followed.

Particularly due to the presence of Bale and Ronaldo, Benzema's value was somewhat overlooked early on. He wasn't the club's primary goalscorer, nor did he regularly sit deep and make breathtaking runs through the opposition's defense.

That's what made him such a critical piece of Real Madrid's talent-laden attack.

"I changed the way I played to play with him," Benzema told former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano (via the Guardian's Sid Lowe). "Ronaldo's departure has allowed me to play a different role. He was scoring 50, 60 goals a year and so you adapt to his style. He was one of the best in the world and I was happy at his side."

Ronaldo's move to Juventus in 2018 allowed him to shine brighter than he ever had.

Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Benzema has scored 110 goals in La Liga and added another 34 goals in 48 Champions League appearances. He found the net 15 times during Madrid's run to a 14th European title last year alone.

Benzema's efforts were rewarded with the 2022 Ballon d'Or. Modrić is the only other Ballon d'Or winner not named Ronaldo or Lionel Messi since 2008.

The veteran forward's post-Ronaldo run cemented his legendary status at Real Madrid. He leaves as a four-time La Liga champion and five-time winner of the Champions League.

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said on Monday that he has spoken to his former teammate, Lionel Messi, about a return to the Blaugrana and has told club president Joan Laporta that he wants the superstar back.

"With the relationship I have with him, I think I have been very clear. The door is open for him here," Xavi told Diario Sport (h/t ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens). "It depends on his personal decision."

"In terms of what I am in charge of, the football side of things, there are no doubts that if Messi comes back he is going to help us," he added. "I have made that clear to the president. I don't have a single doubt about that because he is still a difference-maker, he is still hungry, he's a winner and he is a leader."

Messi's future is one of the most fascinating subplots of the summer, with his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expiring in June. Alongside Barca's interest, a move to either the Saudi Pro League's Al Hilal—following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr—or Major League Soccer's Inter Miami has been rumored.

Of course, a return to PSG is also a possibility, though that began to feel increasingly unlikely when he was suspended by the club for two weeks in early May after he skipped a mandatory training session while traveling to Saudi Arabia for sponsorship obligations.

Messi, 35, spent his entire club career with Barcelona before a two-year pit stop at PSG. His time at Barca is the stuff of legend—he was a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, 10-time La Liga champion and four-time Champions League victor during his Barcelona years.

He had nine seasons with 30 or more league goals, three seasons with 40 or more goals and reached an astonishing 50 La Liga goals in the 2011-12 season.

To put that figure in perspective, Manchester City's Erling Haaland set the Premier League record with 36 goals this past campaign. Messi hit 36 or more goals five times during his time at Barca.

He never reached those heights at PSG, though he still posted an incredibly impressive 16 goals and 16 assists this past season, continuing to evolve as a playmaker later in his career.

Granted, it's a role he's always played well, with 14 seasons of double-digit assists in league play. But it often was overshadowed by his unrelenting goal-scoring.

Messi forever cemented his case as the GOAT after leading Argentina to a World Cup title in December. Now, the only question remaining is where he'll finish his career. Xavi is hoping it will end where it started.

Real Madrid will not be adding another UEFA Champions League title this season.

Manchester City defeated Los Blancos 4-0 in a dominant showing at Etihad Stadium in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal to seal a place in the final against Inter Milan.

The Sky Blues were impressive from the jump in Wednesday's match, with Bernardo Silva scoring in the 23rd and 37th minutes to give his team a 2-0 lead entering halftime.

City kept the pressure on in the second half, and Madrid's Éder Militão was credited with an own goal in the 76th minute to give the Premier League side a 3-0 lead before Julián Álvarez added a fourth in stoppage time.

Madrid fans were livid with their team's performance at the Etihad Stadium, and they took to Twitter to express their disappointment at a missed opportunity to make it back to the Champions League final:

Real Madrid has won the Champions League 14 times, including five times since 2013-14. Its most recent UCL victory came during the 2021-22 season when it defeated Liverpool for its first title since 2017-18.

Manchester City last played in a UCL final during the 2020-21 season, falling to Chelsea. The club will be looking for its first-ever victory in the tournament when it meets Inter on June 10 in Istanbul, Turkey.