Lionel Messi insisted his fifth-place finish in Monday's Ballon d'Or awards was not a motivating factor behind his sensational performance in Barcelona's 4-0 thrashing of local rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday.
Tensions have flared in the region of Barcelona due to the controversial court decision jailing several leaders of the Catalan independence movement for their role in organising a referendum on the subject in 2017.
'It's a prize that's called The Best and the guy who is, for us, the best player in the world wasn't there.'
Setien was named Barcelona coach late on Monday, tasked with the job of restoring the club's iconic passing style, but the appointment represents a huge gamble for the Catalans given the 61-year-old's lack of success at the highest level.
Pochettino picks Barcelona as favourites to win Champions League
Real Madrid and Atletico each slipped 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after an intense Madrid derby finished goalless and the Catalans picked up an 11th victory in 12 games by winning 3-0 at Leganes.
'A ridiculous goal conceded from a corner will be the epitaph of this team, which repeated the mistakes of Rome'
Frenchman Griezmann has a 100 million euro ($119 million) release clause in his contract and Spanish media reported that Barcelona are ready to pay it.
Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez has said it is his dream to coach his former side
Barcelona said on Saturday they had named former midfielder and captain Xavi Hernandez as head coach on a contract until 2024, following the sacking of Ronald Koeman.
Lionel Messi scored twice as King's Cup holders Barcelona moved comfortably into the quarter-finals by thrashing Celta Vigo 5-0 at the Nou Camp in their last 16 second leg game on Thursday.
Lukaku, who was signed for around 80 million euros (71.2 million pounds) from Manchester United in the close season, is the club's leading goalscorer in Serie A alongside midfielder Stefano Sensi, with three goals.
Ousmane Dembele endured a rough start to his Barcelona career but the French winger appears to be finding his feet at a crucial time in the season.
'They were better than us for some spells and we know what awaits us over there' Valverde pointed to his team's sensational exit from last year's competition to AS Roma after a 4-1 cushion from the first leg and said they would be taking nothing for granted in Tuesday's return game at Anfield.
Unzue is one of the two leading candidates to succeed Luis Enrique, who announced this month he will leave at the end of this season, along with Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde.
Lionel Messi said his side were superior to every team in the league after he scored a hat-trick in Sunday's 4-2 win at Deportivo which clinched the club's 25th Spanish title with four games left in the season.
Having won eight of the past 12 league titles coming into this campaign, where has it gone so wrong for Barcelona?
In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Barca play their final league La Liga game of the season at Alaves on Sunday before hosting Napoli on Aug. 8 in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Barcelona rubber-stamped a decade of domestic dominance by clinching the La Liga title on Sunday
Coach Ernesto Valverde and midfielder Sergio Busquets were due to give a news conference before the training session but spoke to the media after training due to their late arrival.
The home side spurned two chances to extend their advantage before the break but Barca levelled in the 52nd minute when Luis Suarez glanced in Lionel Messi's free kick.
'He's an exceptional talent, him and Cristiano have been the best players in the world the last decade and he showed why we think that and why this team have won the Champions League so many times'
Barcelona opened up a four-point gap at the top of La Liga, maintaining their 100 percent start as they cruised to a 3-0 victory at Catalan rivals Girona on Saturday.
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at relegation-fighting Las Palmas on Thursday in an unexpected setback that left them with a five-point lead in La Liga ahead of their top-of-the-table showdown with Atletico Madrid this weekend.
La Liga champions Barcelona's domestic struggles continued as they dropped points for the third game in a row, drawing 1-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday after Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets had begun the match on the substitutes' bench.
Holders Barcelona reached the King's Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Espanyol on Thursday to overcome a first-leg deficit on a night when new signing Philippe Coutinho made his debut.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde will be banking on new signing Ousmane Dembele to fill the gap left by Neymar's departure as he looks to overcome off-pitch difficulties when the Catalans take on Espanyol on Saturday.
Messi, who has struggled for form in recent weeks due to a niggling injury, looked on a mission to grab the winner and after twice coming close he completed his treble to put Barca ahead in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to a poor Sevilla clearance to dink the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
Spanish media paid tribute to Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta after he starred in his side's 5-0 thrashing of Sevilla in the King's Cup final on Saturday.
Messi scored twice and created goals for Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez as champions Barca moved top of the table with 22 points from 10 matches.
"It's better for Messi to play as he is the best in the world and he gives you a boost but we should be very proud as a team, as we showed that we are a great team without Messi and we have a great coach (Ernesto Valverde)," Suarez said.
Barca's Suarez in firing line after European away goals drought
Manchester City have never gone past the semi-final stage of Europe's premier club competition.
Catalans will have to cope without their inspirational captain Andres Iniesta, the man who has pedigree when it comes to beating the Blues.
Levante claim that Barcelona's teenage defender Chumi Brandariz, who played in the first leg, was ineligible to take part in the match because he was suspended.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Ansu Fati is the second-youngest player to represent the Catalan giants in La Liga aged 16 years and 298 days.
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