barcelona

At last, the time was right and the place was too. Xavi Hernández returned to Barcelona as manager and revealed that not only had he twice turned the job down previously – first because he didn’t feel ready and then because he didn’t trust the previous administration or the chaotic situation in which the club found itself – but that he had also passed up the opportunity to work with the Brazilian national team under Tite in order to head home. That, he said, was what moved him.

 Messi said he was in negotiations with French club Paris St Germain over a possible move.

French newspaper L'Equipe reported that the Argentinian would travel to Paris on either Sunday or Monday local time to undertake a medical and finalise his deal with the Qatar Sports Investment-owned club.

While Messi did not confirm he would definitely join the Parisians, he said his plans were to carry on playing as long as possible, adding he still harboured ambitions to win another Champions League trophy.

The Blaugrana great's contract at Camp Nou expired at the end of last season, but he was expected to commit to a new deal ahead of the coming campaign.

Messi reportedly agreed a 50 per cent reduction in wages, with news of the contract anticipated this week ahead of Monday's Joan Gamper Trophy match against Juventus.

But Barca's dire financial situation means they are unable to register new players due to La Liga's salary restrictions.

Messi, like new signings Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal, had been left in limbo.

Medical teams at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona have been photographed wheeling people to the beach as part of a programme designed to humanise intensive care units.

In total, Spain has confirmed 239,932 infections and 27,127 deaths.

The government has slowly begun to ease what was one of Europe's most restrictive lockdowns.

At one point people could not go out to exercise and children were not allowed to leave their homes for any reason.

But Spain has brought its outbreak under control in recent weeks.

First-half doubles from Marta Torrejon and Alexia Putellas were added to by Asisat Oshoala and Caroline Graham Hansen to give Barca a 6-0 lead after 45 minutes at El Helmantico in Salamanca.

Oshoala scored her second in the 51st minute and Torrejon completed her hat-trick before Manuela Lareo finally got La Real on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute.

Candela Andujar made it 9-1 before Torrejon rounded off the scoring 12 minutes from time to seal an emphatic triumph.

A 2-0 loss at Valencia on Saturday resulted in reigning LaLiga champions Barca falling three points adrift of rivals Real Madrid in the title race, but they appeared to get right back on track at Camp Nou on Thursday.

Setien named a strong starting line-up and Antoine Griezmann took less than four minutes to open the scoring, with Clement Lenglet nodding in the second before the half-hour mark.

Messi's Barcelona capitulated at the hands of Liverpool on Tuesday, losing the semi-final second leg 4-0 to go down 4-3 on aggregate.

That shock result ended an astonishing run of dominance for the star duo when it comes to Europe's top club competition. Since 2013, one of Messi or Ronaldo were involved in five successive finals – with the latter winning three straight titles and four in total.

But Ronaldo, who left holders Real Madrid at the start of the season, saw his Juventus team crash out at the quarter-final stage to Ajax in the 2018-19 tournament.

Facing a daunting 3-0 deficit after last week's first leg, Origi made light of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino's absence from the Liverpool forward line by poaching a seventh-minute opener on Tuesday.

Jurgen Klopp's side kept the contest at a pace frenetic enough that Barcelona were rarely allowed to settle and Wijnaldum's quickfire brace before the hour had the locals in raptures.

Former Reds striker Luis Suarez, playing against his old club in a competitive game for the first time since he left for Catalonia in 2014, scored his first Champions League goal in over a year to give Barca a half-time advantage.

James Milner was twice denied by Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the second half - while Mohamed Salah was thwarted too - before Messi struck twice in seven minutes to bring up his milestone.

Barca played 45 minutes with 10 men but managed to extend their record undefeated streak in the top flight to 42 matches, a record that stretches back to April 2017.

In Andres Iniesta's last Clasico, Luis Suarez gave the Catalan giants an early lead by turning in a terrific right-wing cross from Roberto, but the advantage did not last long as Madrid hit back in the 14th minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo - substituted at half-time due to injury - equalled Alfredo Di Stefano's record of 18 Clasico goals for Madrid by tapping in a clever Karim Benzema header back across goal.