Scandalous victory for Barça in their latest La Liga visit to Mestalla that we all know (0-5). The 'culers' imposed their law from the first minute against a Valencia side that looks very poor. Below, some hot takes:

After the Barça rout against Rayo Vallecano (5-2), an indiscreet camera caught a funny scene on the pitch. Karim Adeyemi, who had come on to play in the second half replacing Anthony Gordon, decided to do his post-match warm-up in flip-flops. Pepe Conde, the trainer who was coordinating the routine with other footballers at the time, raised his eyebrows and told him to please put on proper footwear. The German agreed seconds later and joined his teammates – all substitutes – who were working on their fitness in a stadium that was already practically empty.

The Camp Nou remodeling project continues its financial course under the scrutiny of the markets. According to the latest financial update submitted to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), which corresponds to the close of the first half of 2026, the financial vehicle Espai Barça, FT (securitization fund for the money injected by various investors collected by Goldman Sachs), has dedicated €1,162.89 million to the project, which is currently halfway finished. The stadium has reopened the first two renovated tiers, but it still needs to reopen the third tier, which is being built from scratch, and to raise the roof of the entire venue, a fact that will cause a new exile to Montjuïc at the beginning of the next academic year. Regarding the new Palau Blaugrana, the other jewel in the crown of the so-called Espai Barça, there is no further news since the renders that the club distributed before the March elections.

Barça has already debuted three of the five signings confirmed this summer in La Liga. Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, and Rodri Hernández already know what it's like to compete at the Camp Nou. On the other hand, on the last day of the transfer market, the final arrivals had to be finalized - registered. On one hand, Gabriel Jesus, who was presented after signing a contract that will ultimately be for three seasons, until 2029, and not two plus an optional one. And, on the other, Dominik Livakovic. Both were registered at night: the Brazilian with the number 9 and the Croatian with the number 25.

Hard-fought victory for Barça against Rayo Vallecano in the League. Two goals from Raphinha and two from Lamine Yamal (5-2) decide it in favor of Hansi Flick's side to overcome a always combative opponent. Below, some hot takes.

Atlético de Madrid plays this Saturday at the Sánchez-Pizjuán (9:30 PM, Movistar) their third league match and will not be able to count on their best forward. This was confirmed by Diego Pablo Simeone, in the pre-match press conference: Julián Álvarez will not be on the list of called-up players after three days without training with his teammates. He did train alone this Friday afternoon, accompanied by a club physical trainer at the facilities of the mattress club.

Solid victory for Barça in the second league match. The Blaugranas got rid of a very defensive Athletic Club with two goals from Raphinha and Fermín. Unai Simón prevented a rout. Next, some quick notes.

The family of the underage member assaulted by the National Police before the start of the Elche-Barça match last Sunday has decided to accept the legal coverage offered by Barça. The defense of the case will be handled by criminal lawyer Marc Molins, as the ARA has been able to confirm. The affected person, who spent the night at the police station and suffered multiple injuries and bruises all over his body, faces a charge of attempted assault against authority, which in his case (being a minor) could result in a few months of supervised liberty or community service. However, he has not yet been officially notified by the Public Prosecutor's Office for Minors.

Barça already knows the first part of the path to reach the dreamed Champions League final which will be played on June 5, 2027 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid. Hansi Flick's team, which fell in the quarterfinals of the previous edition precisely in this venue, will face very tough rivals in the first phase of the competition.

There will be no tribute at Camp Nou to the world champions with Spain on the eve of this Thursday's match against Athletic Club (9 p.m., DAZN). "It is neither the context nor the most appropriate moment. Football should serve to unite and not to create confrontations that do not benefit anyone," declared Joan Laporta, before confirming that Barça will change the congratulations to the world champions for an "act of exaltation of the estelada, which represents the way of thinking of many Barça fans and Catalans." The blaugrana president, who since 2021 had maintained a low profile regarding pro-independence demonstrations and who showed explicit support for the Roja during the World Cup, reiterated that the estelada is a legal symbol within freedom of expression. "It does not generate violence or hatred. It must be respected because it represents our desires for freedom," he stated.

Barça has closed the signing of Dominik Livakovic. For weeks, the blaugrana club had been exploring the goalkeeping market so that Joan Garcia would have a more guaranteed short-term replacement, and the sporting management has finally opted for the Croatian international, who will sign for the next four seasons. The transfer fee will be 2 million euros fixed plus variables, an amount agreed with the Turkish Fenerbahçe, a club that held the priority since the summer of 2023.

The days go by and Atlético de Madrid is not softening with Julián Álvarez. Quite the opposite. Far from exempting him from public scorn, on Sunday they put him to play against Villarreal at home (2-2), where he was rewarded with shouts and whistles for his insistence on joining Barça this summer. The Madrid club remains firm in its position of not closing any transfer agreement with the Culé entity, which is reluctant to abandon the fight for what it considers the best possible replacement for Robert Lewandowski. "The issue is already personal," argue sources close to the mattress management to ARA, where for months the criterion of the investment fund Apollo Global Management has predominated. As this newspaper has already published, from the Metropolitano only the transfer of Julián is considered if the buyer is a club from outside the League. At the moment, no negotiation is possible with Barça, which could only make the dream of the international light blue paying the 500 million of his release clause.

Spectacular thrashing for Barça to open the League (0-5). Next, some immediate thoughts.

Diego Pablo Simeone is a wily old fox. He knew that the mood of the Atlético de Madrid fans with Julián Álvarez, who has pushed hard to be transferred to Barça, was tense, and he saved him from the whistles in the mattress team's first league match at the Metropolitano. The Argentine forward was the only one of the World Cup finalists who was left out of the squad for the duel against Málaga, which was decided in the second half in favor of the locals (2-0). "He is not yet ready to continue taking care of the name he has," Cholo justified in the press conference prior to the match. In the one that followed, he ironically commented on some offensive chants heard at the stadium against Julián: "They are very respectful." Obviously, he didn't like them at all.

The Gamper Trophy presentation, played under unbearable heat in Barcelona, ended with a modest 2-1 victory for Barcelona. Hansi Flick will be able to draw few conclusions from the last test before debuting this Sunday in the League. Below are the first hot takes of the season.

Barça has confirmed through its coach, Hansi Flick, that Frenkie de Jong will not be the first captain of the Blaugrana team. At least in the short term. This decision, according to the German coach, is "provisional" and is part of a context in which the Dutch midfielder is seriously injured in the knee and the squad is still subject to more changes until the transfer market closes on September 1st at 11:59 PM. The sporting management is working on various operations for both incoming and outgoing players. When the deadline passes, the forecast is that the players will vote for the five captains this season.

Fermín López (El Campillo, Huelva, 2003) has had a tough time because he missed a football World Cup where he would have been important due to an injury. He explains that he couldn't even watch Spain's first matches and had to strengthen his psychological work to recover emotionally. Now he is at 100%, will wear the number 7, and wants to win the Champions League with Barça.

Jorge Mendes already cashed in with Barça a decade ago. The Portuguese super-agent, today the representative of the best Barça player, Lamine Yamal, was a key player in facilitating the signing, at the end of July 2016, of one of the most coveted midfielders in the League. He belonged to Valencia and stood out for his vertical and elegant play. He was also seen as one of the most attractive footballers in the competition. At 23 years old, André Gomes arrived to take on the world. He chose Barcelona after Real Madrid pursued him for weeks. Just like Rodrigo Hernández these days, he left the white club disappointed when he decided to make the move to end up at Camp Nou.

June 30, 2026. This is the date of Frenkie de Jong's last participation in a top-level football match. It was the day the Netherlands national team, now inherited by Xavi Hernández in a very discreet operation, was eliminated from the World Cup against Morocco in a penalty shootout. In that match, the Barça midfielder was photographed with his right knee very swollen. He played infiltrated to avoid pain, but the injury was visibly evident. So much so that upon returning to training with the Barça club, he was diagnosed with a complete tear of the medial collateral ligament.

Barça continues negotiating with Manchester City for the arrival of Rodri Hernández. With the terms agreed with the Madrid midfielder for four seasons, an agreement with the English club is still pending. After an initial offer of 50 million in fixed and variable amounts was rejected, as ARA has learned, the new Blaugrana bid now amounts to a maximum of 65 million, distributed as 55 million fixed, 5 million variable – easily achievable – in the form of matches played, and 5 that will depend on how many titles Rodri wins as a Barça player. In effect, then, the guaranteed amount would rise to 60 million. The talks between the parties are led by Alejandro Echevarría and Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco, from Barça and Ferran Soriano and Hugo Viana from City. There is optimism to close the operation before the end of the week, although Rodri is injured in the back and would not debut in the short term with his new team. In any case, the player is scheduled to report this Friday to begin pre-season training under Enzo Maresca, the new citizen coach.