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.

A decisive week begins for the composition of the Barça 2026/2027 squad. Many open folders on the desk of the Barcelona sporting director, Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco. Among all of them, two stand out in the form of arrivals, Rodri Hernández and Julián Álvarez. If the signing of the Madrid midfielder, made in a lightning move by Real Madrid, is awaiting an agreement with Manchester City, which understands the player's desire to leave, the operation to recruit the Atlético de Madrid forward is much greener (not to say almost impossible). Barça has already verbally agreed the terms of a five-season contract with Julián, but has repeatedly encountered the mattress club's refusal to sell him. "We will not accept 100, nor 150, nor 200 million for him," sentenced the club's CEO, Miguel Ángel Gil, a few weeks ago.

Ronald Araujo will pack his bags this summer. The Uruguayan defender for Barça has accepted a lightning-fast proposal from Liverpool and will go on loan to Anfield for next season. Hansi Flick does not count on him as a starter and the player has considered that the best thing for him is to look for minutes in another team. The information was first reported by Fabrizio Romano and confirmed by ARA late this Friday.

Everyone thought that Julián Álvarez was the main reason for the trip to Madrid of Barça's sporting director, Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco. The Argentine forward has been the clear objective of the Barcelona club for months to strengthen the attack and fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski. Despite Atlético de Madrid's extremely tough reluctance to sell him, it made sense for it to be staged on the field that the interest remains alive. But Deco's trip to the Spanish capital hid another surprising and forceful move: snatch Rodrigo Hernández,Rodri.

The transfer market is heating up with a move that, if it becomes a reality, could be one of the most talked-about of the summer. Rodrigo Hernández, Real Madrid's favorite to strengthen the midfield, has also become a target for Barça in recent hours. The Barcelona club was paying attention to the negotiations of the Madrid midfielder with the white club and has learned first-hand that discussions have cooled, which has led to contacts in recent hours from the Blaugrana sporting director, Deco, with both the player's entourage and Manchester City, who own his rights until June 30, 2027. The operation is in progress and has strongly leaned in favor of Barcelona's interests.

The VIP area of the Ushuaïa nightclub, in Eivissa, turns into a catwalk of well-known faces during the summer months. It was a usual destination for Leo Messi, Luis Suárez and the cream of the crop of the Barça dressing room a few years ago, and today it continues to be frequented by blaugrana footballers eager for decompression. The latest to be seen there in an evening session were Dani Olmo, Joan Garcia and Eric Garcia. Due to their age and common interests, this trio has bonded in recent months and spends a lot of time together both on and off the pitch. All three (and also Pedri, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Pau Cubarsí) have convention holidays until August 12, when more than three weeks will have passed since their World Cup triumph against Leo Messi's Argentina. However, Eric Garcia, according to confirmations from his circle, will advance his return slightly.

The future of Ferran Torres is one of the hot potatoes that Barça has to resolve before the transfer market closes. The forward from Foios' contract ends on June 30, 2027. With the hype through the clouds for their decisive goal in the World Cup final with Spain, has proposed to improve conditions whether he continues at the Camp Nou after a renewal or moves on this summer, which is the last chance for the Catalan club to get value from a transfer. The third option would be for Ferran to leave for free next summer, with the risks this entails: Barça would not receive any transfer fee, and the player could get injured and be left with nothing, without any contractual link. In any case, no scenario is ruled out at present.

It is no longer news that Barça begins its economic year without giving any details about the previous closure. Years ago, the club used to present an advance of the numbers (as of June 30) to its members in a press conference before August. Subsequently, this economic data (income, expenses, profits, short-term and long-term debts, etc.) was audited and submitted to a vote at the autumn general assembly. However, since Joan Laporta returned to the Camp Nou box in 2021, this exercise in transparency merges directly with the annual meeting – which since covid-19 has been held remotely – with the delegates, which this year is expected to take place in September or October in a single day with many topics to debate and also a certain urgency to resolve them.

Barça will begin their league title defense on August 23rd at Elche's ground. It will be one month and five days after the World Cup final in which a large part of the the backbone of the Barça team was crowned champion.This means that Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Pau Cubarsí and company will hardly be able to compete at their best. They would risk suffering injuries just by resuming sporting activity after the success achieved with the Spanish national team. In place of these essential players, Hansi Flick will have to rely at the start of the season on footballers who will have completed a full preseason. Among them, two prominent names stand out: Marc Bernal and Gerard Martín, two young talents who the Barcelona club has had to re-register with the League.

Five weeks of competition paralyzed the world during the celebration of the men's Football World Cup. It has been the most important event of recent years and the Spanish team of Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Ferran Torres, Pedri and company celebrated the triumph in a final decided in extra time against Argentina (1-0). La roja was the best squad of the 48 that took part in the most extensive edition in dates and teams. FIFA, governed by Gianni Infantino, doubled down on the bet compared to the Qatar World Cup. More countries involved, more matches (104) and, ultimately, more money at stake. Even hydration breaks were normalized in the middle of both halves for advertising reasons.The revenue pie of this World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada amounts to 15 billion dollars, according to data provided by FIFA itself, an amount that represents double (+100%) the figures obtained in the 2022 tournament. The prizes for the 48 participating federations amounted to 655 million, 50% more than in Qatar. Spain, as the winning team, pocketed 50 million, of which a large part went to the players and coaches. 750,000 gross euros per footballer, that is, around 377,000 net in the case of those who play for Barça, where taxation is a bit higher than in other regions of the state such as Madrid, Galicia, Navarra or the Basque Country.

The world of football is cyclical, it tends to revisit itself. And Real Madrid is a great example to remember this. 17 years after Florentino Pérez returned to the white presidency and signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso and Ricardo Kaká in one go to dethrone Pep Guardiola's triumphant Barça, Leo Messi and company, the white leader, legitimized at the polls at the beginning of last June, is once again reaching for his wallet to challenge his eternal rival's reign.

Ferran Torres will go down in history as the decisive goalscorer in the second World Cup won by the Spanish national team in its entire history. In extra time, the Valencian from Barça shot down Dibu Martínez, who had made several saves, to unleash a delirium that will last for years. Here are some immediate thoughts.

Rivers of ink have flowed these days over a photograph that came to light two summers ago, on the occasion of the fascinating emergence, at just 16 years old, of Lamine Yamal in a major international tournament: a European Championship that the Spanish team ended up winning in England. The current impact, on the eve of a World Cup final, surpasses the initial one. In fact, there are even skeptics who suggest, in the midst of the explosion of artificial intelligence, that the image in question is a fake.

Every World Cup leaves a handful of images destined to become icons. The hand of God by Maradona, Pelé lifting the World Cup or Lionel Messi celebrating his first world title wearing a bisht, the black and gold robe they placed on him before lifting the trophy in Qatar 2022. But if there is one photograph that has marked the prelude and a large part of the narrative of the 2026 World Cup, it is a very different one: a twenty-year-old Messi bathing a baby who, almost two decades later, has become his rival in a World Cup final. That baby was Lamine Yamal.

Spain-Argentina in the World Cup final. The world will stop this Sunday with a historic match between Lamine Yamal and Leo Messi, two football stars forged at La Masia who are 20 years apart. There is no better spectacle to stage a generational handover. The albiceleste achieved another feat in a semifinal resolved agonizingly against England, who saw themselves overturned in just six minutes, a victim of the inexhaustible talent of Rosario's number 10, author of two key passes amidst another ode to epic (1-2). The British, despite their goalkeeper's good performance, managed the lead disastrously in a very exciting second half and were eliminated against the team with the most mystique on the planet.

Barça has decided to trust Xevi Pujol and Aleksander Sekulic to revive the basketball section. The club will relocate Joan Carles Navarro, who still has two more years of contract, but the former player no longer participates in strategic decisions. The idea of the Culer entity is to rejuvenate the project and look for a style of players who can develop a more modern and dynamic style of play.

Ferran Torres is not an undisputed starter with Spain at the World Cup and has been the subject of memes for his lack of accuracy in front of goal, but Luis de la Fuente trusts him to revolutionize matches that get stuck, as has been seen in the last two knockout stages of the championship. Against Portugal in the round of 16 an excellent assist from him to Mikel Merino was the goal of the win for the red one, and in front of Belgium in the quarterfinals he contributed to the final siege that ended Rudi Garcia's team's resistance. On the way to 27 years old, the age often associated with a footballer's peak, the Valencian is excited about the possibility of being world champion. But at the same time, he knows that, whatever happens against France this Tuesday (9 p.m., La 1 and DAZN) and in a hypothetical final, this summer will be key for his future as a professional.

Argentina will play the World Cup semi-finals thanks to Julián Álvarez. He hadn't scored in the entire tournament and was dealing with some murmurs about his rather mediocre performance, but he showed up at the best moment to save his team in another match decided by delirium (3-1). Sought after by big European clubs like Barça, the Atlético de Madrid forward invented a championship goal to unbalance a match that was heading for penalties. A rocket into the top corner from a brave Swiss team to meet England's Kane and Bellingham in the semis this Wednesday.