Messi was a mainstay of Guardiola's Barca side that won 14 major titles and has been linked with a switch to City
Barcelona look well set to wrap up the La Liga title.
'After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it was time to go to the US league to experience football in a different way and enjoy the day-to-day.'
Paris St Germain and Brazil forward Neymar has been ordered to pay his former club Barcelona 6.7 million euros ($7.51 million) after losing a lawsuit over an unpaid bonus, the Spanish champions said in a statement on Friday. Neymar moved from Barca to PSG for a world record fee of 222 million euros in 2017 but took the La Liga side to court over the terms of the last contract he signed with them a year earlier, claiming he was entitled to 43.6 million euros.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona's unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
A summary of Tuesday's Group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
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Nadal, a Real fan despite his uncle Miguel Angel making over 200 appearances for arch-rivals Barcelona, was seen speaking to umpire Mohamed Lahyani about his team's 0-0 home draw with Real Betis on Saturday and was less than impressed with what he saw.
The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday Messi had been banned for two matches, meaning he will miss Thursday's Copa del Rey last-32 tie at Cornella and Sunday's La Liga match away to Elche.
Real Madrid defender Nacho was the unlikely hero as they snatched a 1-0 win at Real Valladolid on Sunday to capitalise on Barcelona's defeat at Valencia this weekend and move three points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga. Serie A leaders Juventus suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Napoli on Sunday, with coach Maurizio Sarri returning to his former club for the first time, though Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to score for an eighth league game in a row for the visitors.
Last month, Barcelona had announced that the club's presidential election will be held on March 7. The election had previously been scheduled for January 24 but got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique led tributes to the late Johan Cruyff in a memorial organised by the club on Tuesday and vowed to "continue copying and improving his style of attacking football".
Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almeria on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Toure.
Willian and Lionel Messi scored as Chelsea and Barcelona finished 1-1 after an absorbing first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 home win over Besiktas.
Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football's three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The win takes Barca on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.
Sevilla joined holders Real Madrid in the last 16 of the King's Cup when a quick-fire Iago Aspas hat-trick helped secure a crushing 11-2 aggregate victory over second-division Sabadell on Wednesday.
Spain striker Iago Aspas dealt a fresh blow to Barcelona's La Liga title hopes by striking a late free kick to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to the Catalans on Saturday as Quique Setien's side twice threw away the lead in a thrilling match. The draw put Barca back on top of the table on 69 points after 32 games but Real Madrid, on 68, can go two points clear at the summit if they beat Espanyol away from home on Sunday.
Leaders Real Madrid pulled three points clear of second-placed Celta Vigo when they held off the valiant 10-man Galicians to secure a nervy 3-1 victory in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash in La Liga.
Laporta, whose first spell in charge between 2003 and 2010 garnered unprecedented success, announced his candidacy for a second term on Monday.
The win moved Barcelona up to fourth place on 38 points from 22 games
Barcelona extended their LaLiga lead to eight points thanks to second-half goals by Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinha that gave them a 3-0 home win against Sevilla
Much-needed rest for the Barca stars before FC Barcelona's UEFA's Champions League campaign.
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Jeswin Aldrin, who had already qualified for the championships, however missed the cut.
Sergio Ramos made amends for his untimely own goal last week at Sevilla by scoring twice as Real Madrid bounced back from two successive defeats by beating Malaga 2-1 on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Leaders Barcelona scored five goals away at their city rivals Espanyol for the first time as they made light of a potentially tricky city derby on Saturday.
"It is a story that I wanted to tell in my own words, about what happened. I feel it is the biggest story of my career and I thought that I held it for too long by myself and that I needed to share it with other people. The moment was now and (being in) Madrid, on the eve of El Clasico on Sunday, was the perfect occasion to make it happen," the former striker said.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, who won the 2022 Ballon d'Or award, is also in the shortlist.
Pedro hit a first-half hat-trick as Barcelona cruised into the last 16 of the King's Cup with a 8-1 second leg demolition of lower league Huesca at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
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Impressive performances from Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati helped Barcelona overcome an early red card to defender Clement Lenglet and win 3-0 at Celta Vigo on Thursday to make it two wins out of two in the new La Liga season.
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah and Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny have returned another positive test for COVID-19, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said on Wednesday.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said captain Lionel Messi could feature against Inter Milan in the Champions League, on Tuesday, little more than two weeks after breaking his arm.
Barcelona beat Juventus 3-1 to claim the Champions League title on Saturday thanks to goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar in an entertaining final at the Olympic Stadium.
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The statement added that both players and the staff member were in good health and said the team had followed protocol and taken the appropriate measures following the results.
Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Lionel Messi dragged Barcelona back from two goals down by scoring twice to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia in a thrilling encounter.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Union Berlin's Paul Jaeckel scored a 76th-minute winner to give his team a 1-0 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and send them two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
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