Even though she is only 25 years old, Claudia Pina (Montcada i Reixac, 2001) is already one of the veterans in a Barça dressing room that, despite losing very important players this season, continues to aim for everything. The season opener is this Sunday (7 PM, TV3) at the Johan Cruyff stadium.

The Vuelta a Espanya is left without its best cyclist and great favorite. When everything suggested that Tadej Pogacar would give his rivals no chance – as usual – and, after overwhelmingly winning the Tour de France, would add another competition to his palmarès, the Slovenian has fallen on the eighth stage of the Spanish race and will not be able to continue wearing the red jersey.

This Sunday, Badalona Women kicks off an exciting season at Athletic Club's ground (12 p.m., Esport3). Marc Ballester's team has not hidden its ambition at any time, and the transfer market –led by the Mercury13 investment fund– has served to bring in eight new faces: Vicky Losada, Sheila Guijarro, Mirari Uria, Izarne Sarasola, Lucía Martínez, Kalu Chianyere, Txell Font, and Lauri Requena, who in the hours before officially debuting with the turquoise and white colors spoke to ARA at the Municipal de Badalona. “The adaptation has been better than I expected. I fit in perfectly with the team on and off the field. I love the city and I live near the beach, which I have always wanted,” she assures.

There was a time when Barça women's team competed in the Second Division or fought to stay in the First. Years when the great women's football team in Catalonia wore white and blue – Espanyol – and when the stars were not from Barça. Maribel Domínguez, known as Marigol, was Barça's first major international signing. The footballer, born in Mexico City in 1978, arrived in mid-2004-05 season as one of the best players in the world.

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.

Nico González, Ilaix Moriba, Marc Cucurella, Pau Víctor, Dro Fernández…, and now Alejandro Balde, Marc Casadó and Héctor Fort, if the operations currently underway to have them leave before September 1st are finalized. Barça continues to cash in on academy players who do not have a place in the first team. In the last ten years, about thirty players trained at La Masia have been sold after debuting in the elite. On the other hand, others, such as Pau Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal or Marc Bernal, have recently earned their place among the best footballers in the world. Eric Garcia, Gavi, Fermín and Dani Olmo are other home-grown talents with a consolidated presence in the first Barcelona squad. La Masia represents almost half of Flick's Barça, but it is also sold.

The firm commitment to women's football in Spain is one of the great challenges in the coming years. The World Cup won by the Spanish team in 2023 seemed like it would boost women's sport, but over the years it has all remained a utopia. Attendance at stadiums was the first wake-up call, with a drop of almost 20% in the last season. Now, television rights —which could not be awarded in the first round due to a lack of offers— have once again highlighted the problems the competition is facing.

Barça did not fail. Pere Romeu's team presented themselves to their fans with another great match led by Patri Guijarro – on and off the field – and with goals from Esmee Brugts, Claudia Pina, and Graham Hansen that served to overcome Brighton and win a new Joan Gamper Trophy (3-1). The performance of the new Barça goalkeeper, Tyler McCamey, also stood out, as she received the crowd's ovation and could already hear her new chant.

More than 9,000 kilometers from Barcelona, Bruna Vilamala (Borgonyà, 2002) is looking to make a place for herself in one of Mexico's top teams, Club Amèrica. The Catalan forward was transferred last summer after a season on loan at English side Brighton. “It’s a project that attracts me because it reminds me a lot of Barça a few years ago. It’s very nice when you start to grow, to win…, and here things are being done very well. They bet a lot on us, they give us everything we need, and right now, I think Amèrica is already the best team in Mexico,” explains Bruna after winning the treble (Clausura, Copa de Campeones de la Concacaf, and Mexican League Championship Cup) with the American team.

“I’m still amazed when I see my face in As”. That’s what Pereza sang in the song Princesas and that’s what Paul McGrath (Barcelona, 2002) still thinks. The Catalan athlete won his first gold medal on Saturday at the European Race Walking Half Marathon Championship in Birmingham. At just 24 years old, it’s his third medal after the European silver achieved in Rome (2024) and the world bronze in Tokyo (2025). “Suddenly I find myself here. In three years, I’ve been to the Olympics and won world and European medals. It’s a bit scary, but I had always dreamed of this and it motivates me immensely to continue,” he confesses to ARA.

Sabadell has returned to professional football, earning a point in a stadium like El Molinón. Great image from the arlequinat squad, who for many minutes imposed their style of play against a historic Spanish football club like Sporting de Gijón (0-0). The Catalans missed a goal with a penalty missed by Rahmani, but they begin their journey in the Second Division with a valuable away point.

Women's football continues to take steps forward. Despite the flight of talent to England, Catalan football is consolidating its commitment to continue growing. The latest major project to arrive has been in Cornellà. Through Leo Messi –who announced the purchase of the Baix Llobregat club three months ago–, UE Cornellà SAD will debut a women's team this coming season, the first in its history. "It is an honor that we are counted on for this project. For the club it is a very important step and we know we have a responsibility," Amara, who will be captain at just nineteen years old, explains to ARA. "It was an honor that they counted on me for this role. Furthermore, they are giving me a lot of confidence and I am very grateful," she adds.

Irene Paredes has started her sixth season at Barça. She arrived in the summer of 2021 from PSG as an already consolidated center-back in elite football and, since then, has not stopped growing. She has been immovable, both for Jonatan Giráldez and for Pere Romeu, and together with Mapi León she has formed one of the best center-back pairings. “A moment comes when cycles end and you look for other challenges, it's the law of life. Barça will continue and the identity of this team will not be lost,” Paredes reflected after playing the last match of last season at the Johan Cruyff stadium, where Alèxia Putellas, Ona Batlle and Mapi León said goodbye.

Few footballers can boast of having spent eighteen years at the same club. Àlex Cano (Barcelona, 1988) is one of them. The captain of Europa will face his eighteenth season, the second consecutive in Primera RFEF, with the 'escapulat' team with the same enthusiasm as the first day. “Europa is my home. I've spent half my life coming practically every day to Nou Sardenya. When you feel like you belong to Europa, it's hard to leave,” he assures ARA after finishing the first edition of the camp that bears his name.

Barça women already have their new great star. The Blaugrana team surpasses – for the first time in its history – the barrier of one million euros and incorporates the Brazilian attacker Kerolin Nicoli (1999), who arrives from Manchester City and signs for four seasons. After the departures of Alexia Putellas, Ona Batlle, Mapi León and Salma Paralluelo, it was necessary to make a statement to show that the reigning European champion wanted to aspire to all titles again. This has arrived with a name unknown to many, but which in recent weeks has been gaining strength. The operation is now official.

“I was on the bus and the driver wouldn’t let me pay; I was in a restaurant and someone approached me. Everyone recognizes you because you’re everywhere.” These are some of the experiences of Eva Olid (Sabadell, 1985), who last May won the league with Hearts of Midlothian FC, a team from Edinburgh which, when the Catalan arrived in 2021, was amateur. Furthermore, they have also qualified for the Champions League preliminary round, although the Sabadell-born coach will not continue to lead the Scottish team.

Sorrow in the world of mountaineering due to the death of the renowned mountaineer Nirmal Nimsdai Purja, 43 years old. The British-Nepalese hiker was part of an expedition to Broad Peak – one of the highest mountains in the world – when on Thursday the group was surprised by an avalanche. His body was found this Sunday. So far, the deaths of nine out of ten missing mountaineers have been confirmed. Among the fatalities is also Nadhira Al Harthy, the first Omani woman to reach the summit of Everest.

Cata Coll is the goalkeeper for Barça women's team. After a year on loan at Sevilla, the Balearic footballer knew how to wait for her moment until she became the undisputed starter – at Barça and for the Spanish national team. Hard work, consistency, and patience paid off for Cata Coll, considered one of the best goalkeepers of today. This, however, is a very delicate area in football and the blaugrana club has worked during the summer to strengthen the position.

Gianni Infantino has backtracked on his proposal to create a subsidiary to sell part of the World Cup and Club World Cup to private investors. "After listening to all opinions, it has become clear that the project has created divisions in such a way that, regardless of support, it is no longer in the interest of the objective initially set out," explained the FIFA president in a statement distributed through social networks.

New chapter in the battle shaking up the world of football. After Gianni Infantino's proposal to sell part of the World Cup and the Club World Cup, which has met with an unprecedented boycott from UEFA, the FIFA president finds himself a little more alone. Carlos Cordeiro, one of the main advisors to the European football governing body and the president's right-hand man, announced his resignation this Friday after disagreeing with the latest decisions made by the world football's top leader.