Remodeling the Camp Nou from top to bottom was not only aimed at repairing possible damage to a stadium built in 1957. The world of football has changed a lot since then and stadiums are no longer just meeting points where one goes to watch a match every two weeks. They are business spaces open 365 days a year and are commercially exploited beyond competition. UEFA and FIFA have also modified their regulations. Football can be played almost anywhere as long as the pitch has the regulation dimensions. But the big tournaments, the big finals, are reserved for the best stadiums. And the old Camp Nou had become obsolete.

Barça, Ajax and Ter Stegen reached a preliminary agreement at the end of June for the goalkeeper played this season on loan in the Netherlands. But when it came to drafting the contracts, the problems began. The famous small print. First, it was the distribution of the footballer's salary, and then a series of fiscal matters. All of this has been slowing down what seemed to be an imminent loan. Four weeks later, the reality is that Ter Stegen is still in Barcelona and training at the Ciutat Esportiva under Hansi Flick's orders as if he were just another member of the squad.

With only one year left on his contract, without a formal renewal offer, with PSG's interest in the background and doubts due to intermittent performance, Ferran Torres was included in the Spanish national team's squad for the 2026 World Cup. Except for the first game, in which he started against Cape Verde, he has been a substitute in the rest. He has always played, but he hadn't scored. And so it went until the final against Argentina. Football history is full of players who score decisive goals when they are not going through a good personal moment. Ferran is the latest example. The forward from Foios broke his bad streak with a goal in the first minute of the second half of extra time. The winning goal. A goal, his first of the tournament, which meant a "great release" after being "heavily criticized throughout the World Cup."}The winning goal. A goal, his first of the tournament, which meant a "great release" after being "heavily criticized throughout the World Cup".

Four goals in the first half and six in the second. Ten in total. The match for third and fourth place in the 2026 World Cup was chaotic, more like an exhibition match than a tournament that is supposed to be the highest expression of football on the planet. Because England went into the break winning no less than 0-4, but at times in the second half it seemed they could lose to a reborn France. In the end, the English ended up winning 4-6.

The security protocol in New York State in case of an electrical storm is very strict and prevents any outdoor activity if there are less than 30 seconds between a lightning strike and the accompanying thunder. Furthermore, activities cannot resume until at least half an hour has passed since the last thunder. For this reason, the Spanish team was unable to hold its last training session before the World Cup final. The team coached by Luis de la Fuente could not step onto the pitch at the Melanie Lane Training Ground in New Jersey and had to settle for an activation session in the gym. Argentina had better luck. In their case, they only had to postpone training by 45 minutes at the Red Bull Academy in Morristown: it rained on them, but they were able to train without further impediments.

Football historians recall that Real Madrid truly became great in the 1950s thanks to the European Cup. That newly created tournament became successful at a time when the Old Continent was still rebuilding after the Second World War. It was also a time when the Spanish national team was better known for its failures than for its successes — with the exception of the '64 Eurocup, held precisely in Spain—. So it suited the Franco regime well that the Madrid club, winner of the first five editions, became an ambassador for the country internationally. It was still a winning team that, in the domestic competition of the First Division, would also rack up League titles.

A goal from Oyarzabal, a penalty, and another from Pedro Porro, allowed the Spanish team to defeat France and reach the World Cup final. For the second time in its history, La Roja will play the title match, and will do so after demonstrating, like in 2010, that a great generation of footballers is not enough, but that the key to success is for all the stars to play for the team. A very young generation of fearless players who are not afraid of anything, not even what, on paper, was the deadliest attack of all. It turns out that France was unable to score and it is Spain who reaches the title match with immaculate defensive statistics: they have only conceded one goal in the entire competition.

When Hansi Flick signed for Barça in the summer of 2024, the German coach knew perfectly well that the club's economic situation was delicate and that top-tier signings could not be afforded. A year later, he was greatly disappointed when he learned that he would have to wait another season to be able to strengthen the squad, as delays in the return to Camp Nou conditioned the fair play financier. The third one was the right one and Barça faces a summer without more restrictions than those of its budget. Once Anthony Gordon has been signed for 70 million plus variables, the next target is Karim Adeyemi, a Borussia Dortmund forward, who, if nothing goes wrong, will be a Blaugrana this very week. The German club has already admitted that the footballer is not training and has permission to negotiate his departure.

The Spanish team is already in the World Cup semi-finals. Suffering, dominating possession but struggling to break down Belgium's defense, Lamine Yamal's team and company eventually defeated the Belgian side (2-1) with an early goal from Fabián and a late one from Mikel Merino just before the end of regulation time. The red team's dream continues despite the team failing to dispel doubts, unable to complete a flawless 90-minute match. The next hurdle is France, with whom they will compete for a place in the final.

With the numbers in hand, Lamine Yamal is far from the offensive contributions of other stars of this World Cup. For now, the Barça winger scores a single goal in the tournament and has not played any assistance. Of course, with the exception of the match against Portugal, he has not been able to play all the possible minutes. In the debut against Cape Verde he was a substitute and only played 19 minutes. Against Saudi Arabia he was a starter and was substituted at halftime after scoring. Against Uruguay, 76 minutes; and against Austria, 85. With the 90 minutes of the round of 16 against Portugal, he adds up to 315 minutes out of a possible 450. 70%. A low percentage if you consider that the top scorers (Leo Messi, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé) exceed 90% participation.

Michel Sánchez was key for Marc-André ter Stegen would go to Girona in January. It was well known that Barça was looking for an exit for him and that the goalkeeper did not see himself leaving on loan. But the coach, through the sporting director Quique Cárcel, insisted until he received the go-ahead. It is an unknown what would have happened if Ter Stegen had not been injured and had been able to complete the second half of the season with the Montilivi team. Perhaps they would not have been relegated. The only thing known for sure is that Michel has not lost confidence in the Mönchengladbach goalkeeper, to the point that he has asked for him again to join Ajax, a club he has been coaching since this summer.

Neither Donald Trump nor FIFA president Gianni Infantino find the amnesty for American forward Folarin Balogun scandalous, following pressure from the US president on the World Cup organization. The Republican was the first to admit it this Monday morning to the press as a logical situation –"That wasn't a foul. So yes, I asked FIFA to review it"– and shortly after, Infantino came out to justify the decision and assured that he speaks "regularly" with the leader. The FIFA chief and the US president have unleashed the latest controversy amidst a competition already marked by the shadow of the current US administration.

It's a few minutes past four in the afternoon. There isn't a cloud in the sky over Barcelona. The sun is beating down mercilessly. Thirty-one degrees, the mobile says. The asphalt gives off an invisible vapor that rises up your body and makes you sweat even if you're in the shade, which is particularly sought after. The classic stuffiness, intensified in the middle of the heatwave. And despite all this, dozens, hundreds, thousands of people are defying this July Saturday to come out onto the street and wait patiently behind the metal fences. There's no shortage of caps or sunscreen. Nor beach chairs, fans, or pocket fans. It's time to wait, but it seems to be a wait that is enjoyed, especially by those who have already secured a front-row spot and don't want to give it up even if they risk sunstroke.

The last time the Spanish national team had overcome a World Cup knockout match was in 2010, the year they were proclaimed champions in South Africa. Since then, la roja had either fallen in the group stage or in the first knockout match. Sixteen years later, the Spanish national team broke the curse by defeating Austria (3-0) to reach the round of 16, where they will face Portugal. Oyarzabal around the half-hour mark, and Pedro Porro and – once again – Oyarzabal in the second half tipped the balance in favor of a team that played from less to more but ended up thrashing and dispelling the doubts they had shown at the start of the competition.

Joan Laporta is once again president of Barça. As the Blaugrana statutes dictate, the Barcelona lawyer took office this July 1st after winning the elections held in March, and he did so with an inaugural speech in which he called for the "unity of Barça followers" and promised an "exciting" future with the consolidation of the project his board began in 2021. His term ends on June 30, 2031.

The name of Julán Álvarez is on everyone's lips, including the president of Barça, Joan Laporta, who spoke about him on the day he was sworn in again as the club's top official. In an impromptu press conference after the swearing-in ceremony, Laporta assured that the offer made by Barça about a month ago remains firm, but that "it is not unlimited in time".

Ansu Fati was baptized as the heir because he was considered the natural successor to Leo Messi. Fast, skillful, cunning, a goalscorer... he had all the qualities to be Barça's new star. So much so that, with the departure of the Rosario forward, Ansu went on to wear the number 10 on his shirt. He seemed like a natural successor. But this fairy tale began to go wrong on November 7, 2020, when he tore his meniscus in a league match against Betis. A ordeal began that would lead him to undergo surgery up to four times and a slow and unsatisfactory recovery. Ansu would never be the same again. This June 30, he has ceased to be a Barça player for all intents and purposes.

That summer of 2010 when Sandro Rosell said that the Camp Nou needed "paint and plaster" seems very far away. During the electoral campaign, he rejected the Foster project and considered it an excessive investment. But a few days after winning the elections, a small group of stadium workers took him aside, him and vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu, to show them the deficiencies of a coliseum that was already more than half a century old. They were convinced that an integral reform was necessary. That visit was the embryo of Espai Barça, which four years later resulted in a project approved by the members in a referendum. But in 2014 it had a budget of 600 million euros. Today, with the works underway, the credit of 1.5 billion has already been exhausted and another one of between 350 and 450 million will be needed to finish the stadium completely.

One more season, Barça's season ticket holders will have to live with the provisional situation. The Camp Nou is not yet finished and, with 60,000 seats available, only a part of the season ticket holders can fit in the stadium. Therefore, provisional passes are maintained and season tickets remain on hold. However, the prices do change, being between 30% and 35% more expensive than last season. The club announced this to its members this Thursday, precisely on the day the process to renew these passes for the 2026/27 season began.

Despite Miguel Ángel Gil Marín breaking the silence to assure that Julián Álvarez is not for sale, the reality is that both the CEO of Atlético de Madrid and a good part of the employees in the offices of the mattress club are convinced that it is highly probable that the forward will leave the club this summer. Could he stay? Yes, if no agreement is finally reached with the interested clubs, but El Aranya wants to leave and Apollo, the investment fund that recently controls the entity, is already willing to do business with the Argentine footballer. The problem is the destination. Because Julián wants to play for Barça, a club he has dreamed of since he was little. However, the mattress executives do not want to strengthen a direct rival in the fight for the League, Cup, and Super Cup titles. They prefer PSG. Or Arsenal, which would be willing to make an exchange offering money and with the Swede Viktor Gyökeres as a bargaining chip. However it ends, everyone is clear that the saga will be long and will have plot twists.