Barcelona have agreed a transfer fee with Liverpool for Javier Mascherano and the Argentine midfielder is expected in Spain for a medical this weekend, the clubs said on Friday.
Goals from the prolific duo of Luis Suarez and Neymar earned Barcelona a tight 2-1 win at Las Palmas on Saturday to propel them nine points clear at the top of La Liga.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government is anxious to get the country up and running again without igniting a second wave of infections as the economy reels and Spaniards gradually emerge from nearly eight weeks under lockdown.
The dazzling Lionel Messi returned from illness to score yet another double to help Barcelona ease into the knockout stages of the Champions League for a 13th successive year with their 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday.
'So to have a person by your side that you love and can comfortably and mutually and reciprocally talk about tennis in our case, I think it's a breath of fresh air.'
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
Spain midfielder Pedro has no regrets over leaving Barcelona in search of more playing time, despite failing to nail down a regular starting berth in his debut season at Chelsea. Consigned to life on the fringes of the starting side at the Nou Camp, Pedro joined the Blues in August and scored seven goals in 29 Premier League appearances as he struggled to adapt to life in England. Chelsea mounted a dismal defence of their title this season, finishing 31 points behind winners Leicester City in 10th place, while serial champions Barcelona won their sixth La Liga title in eight years when they beat Granada 3-0 on Saturday.
Real Madrid's stuttering season continued as they were reduced to 10 men and then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat of the campaign by going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
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.
This time we're ready for Barca, says Man City's Nasri.
Neymar is close to signing a three-year contract extension with Barcelona that will tie the Brazil captain to the La Liga champions until June 2021, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu announced on Thursday. The 24-year-old forward is a reported target of top European clubs and his current deal expires in June 2018. El Mundo Deportivo reported on Thursday that Manchester United were launching a "total offensive" to acquire Neymar.
'I don't want to close 100% the door, because it's a very simple thing...'
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has agreed a new four-year contract with the Spanish champions until 2021, the club said a day after they reached the Champions League quarter-finals by thrashing Paris St Germain 6-1.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored with an acrobatic header on his La Liga debut to seal Barcelona's 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon as they opened their title defence in style on Monday.
Barcelona win Champions League beating Manchester United 2-0 at Rome.
Ansu Fati is the second-youngest player to represent the Catalan giants in La Liga aged 16 years and 298 days.
The Spanish champions were greeted by thousands of fans as they paraded through the city on an open-top bus to celebrate winning the Champions League.
The Brazilian is likely to make his first appearance of the season for the Ligue 1 leaders at home against Racing Strasbourg on Saturday.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said his only wish is to succeed with the Spanish champions and has dismissed the idea that he could be lured away to another club.
Atletico Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday thanks to an own-goal by Rui Silva and a header by Alvaro Morata as Diego Simeone's side ended a three-game winless run in all competitions.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique played down talk of a rift with his squad after their surprise home defeat by Alaves and is hoping to put things right in their Champions League opener against Celtic on Tuesday.
Top seed Rafa Nadal, who has won the tournament 10 times, also reached the last eight after dispatching compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-3 and claiming a record-extending 40th consecutive set on clay.
Cesc Fabregas has returned to training as the Barcelona midfielder continues his recovery from a knee injury, the La Liga leaders said on Monday.
Real Madrid had courted Mbappe in the past but failed to land the player, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May 2022 when the Spanish club had a bid rejected.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were on target as holders Barcelona thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 to reach the King's Cup semi-finals for the seventh successive year with a 6-2 aggregate victory on Thursday.
Lionel Messi's late penalty saw bedraggled Barcelona scrape a 2-1 victory over Leganes on Sunday at a divided Nou Camp as the La Liga champions looked as if they had still not recovered from their harrowing midweek defeat to Paris St Germain.
Carlos Alcaraz made a winning start in his bid to claim a first French Open title
'If I feel good, I will try to continue competing because it's what I like and what I know how to do.'
Valverde's knowledge of Barca and his many years of experience of coaching in Spain saw him pip Argentine Jorge Sampaoli and Luis Enrique's assistant Juan Carlos Unzue to the top job.
