Berlin, June 6, 2015. While Barça won the Champions League final against Juventus, a UEFA employee counted Estelada flags among the Barça fans in the stadium. With the process in full swing, someone in Madrid had contacted the European body to inform it that the pro-independence flags were political banners and, according to the regulations, should be banned. A few days later UEFA fined Barça 30,000 eurosOn September 29 of that same year, Barça hosted Bayer Leverkusen. It was their first home game since the suspension and the public's response was clear: More Esteladas than ever were displayed, independence chants were made at the 17th minute and 14 seconds mark, and, above all, the Champions League anthem was played as a sign of protest.

The Champions League draw, which was broadcast on Thursday afternoon by some sports networks and platforms, usually has unique preliminary events led by Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA. More than determining the competition's schedule and pairings, it is an opportunity for him to showcase his prominence and power. Last year, to present the competition's new format, he premiered a short film in which football stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Buffon played Ceferin's supporting role, with a very well-directed theatricality. At that time, the UEFA president had already approved a script that portrayed him as a unique and charismatic leader, an omnipotent and authoritarian football ideologue. This year, he brought him back for another broadcast. And, turning it into a tradition, he presented a second part of what now appears to be a series. The film is worthy of analysis for everything it reveals. It is supposed to be a new episode of tension between Ceferin and Zlatan. In a television interview, the Swede boasts of having devised the competition system that debuted last season and assures that he has new changes in store. Ceferin enters UEFA headquarters, agile, determined, and powerful. The camera follows him up the stairs to his office, as if he were a hero about to take action. Only one woman appears in the building throughout the video: his secretary, to whom he gives an order without even wishing her a good day: "Everyone in my office and play Zlatan on the phone!" The Swede is getting a massage in a mansion on Lake Como and showing off his muscles. He appears naked with a towel tied around his waist while arguing on the phone with Ceferin. Meanwhile, in the office, the UEFA executives, all wearing shirts and ties, are arguing. Luis Figo is one of them, and he's about to get into a fistfight with someone who disagrees with him. It's a conclave of macho men. In the telephone exchange between Ceferin and Zlatan, they even insult each other. They call each other idiots and sarcastically belittle each other. A battle of egos ensues in which the former footballer tries to take credit and Ceferin claims responsibility. Finally, the Swede gives in in exchange for a secret condition, which the UEFA president accepts. And the short film puts an end to that mystery. The draw gala resolved the enigma live. The two protagonists appeared on stage. "What is the condition you have accepted, Mr. Ceferin?" the presenter asks. "The UEFA President's Award goes to Zlatan Ibrahimović," he admits. Because in the character's megalomania, the man has created an award with his own name to give to whomever he pleases.

Every year at the end of July Espanyol remembers its debut in the Intertoto Cup, a dull and extinct summer tournament organized by UEFA that holds a privileged place in the collective imagination of the "perico" (Spanish footballers) and gives its name to the best crop of players to emerge from the Blanquiazul youth academy. Clubs that hadn't qualified for Europe via the La Liga competed, and the champions received a ticket to the UEFA Cup. In 1998, the Spanish representatives were Valencia and Español. Marcelo Bielsa, who had joined the Catalan club that summer, declined to participate; and to avoid a fine, the club entrusted Paco Flores, a club man, to participate in the Intertoto with players returning from loan, those discarded from the first team, and players from the reserve team.

The long queues that have formed at Espanyol's stadium shop since their first kit for the 2025-26 season went on sale last Thursday—the second, white kit was unveiled this Tuesday—confirm the success of Kelme's new design. "It has a style," retro that I like a lot. It's very pretty," he said Captain Javi Puado seeing it live for the first time, during the renewal ceremony of his contract with the club until 2030. The piece evokes the one worn by the team forty years ago, by the Catalan brand Massana, technical sponsor of the club between 1984 and 1994. It stands out for its polo-style collar and sleeves bearing the Massana logo, one of the most characteristic features of that shirt, which has become a museum piece.

Girona is negotiating with UEFA to be able to operate normally with the City Football Group, following a forced pause due to its Champions League presence. The Girona club is "optimistic," although it remains cautious, as European football's governing body has always been quite rigid in its decisions. If UEFA gives its approval, loan deals from Manchester City, a common practice for Montilivi for a decade, will be reactivated.

Barça narrowly missed out on reaching the Champions League final in Munich. However, this Bavarian city, a beer haven, played an important role in the club's season finale. Joan Laporta traveled there, taking advantage of the opportunity. Lamine Yamal's Spanish team played in the Nations League final. last weekend. The match, despite the participation of several Barça players, was secondary on the agenda of Barça's executive president. The visit had a clear purpose: to speak in person with Aleksander Čeferin, the president of UEFA, to obtain a reduction in the fine that European football's governing body intends to impose on Barça for repeatedly violating its fair play Financial.

UEFA could severely sanction Barça for breaching its financial regulations for the second year in a row, according to reports. The TimesThe sanction could consist of a hefty fine, a reduction in the number of players Barça can register for the Champions League, or even a loss of points in Europe's top competition. UEFA's final decision will be announced in the coming weeks.

Santiago Bernabéu will play under a warning in Europe for the next two years. The UEFA Appeals Committee issued a warning on Friday that would lead to the partial closure of Real Madrid's stadium for "discriminatory behaviour". The incident occurred during the last Champions League match against Manchester City, in which the organisation recorded various behaviours in the stands that it now condemns; especially homophobic insults against Pep Guardiola. The sanction, however, will only be effective if the Real Madrid fans reoffend during this two-year period.

Twelve of the most important football clubs in Europe, including Barça, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, have made official a historic agreement to form a new competition, the European Super League, self-managed by the twelve (expected to soon be fifteen) founding clubs: the three mentioned teams from La Liga, six more teams from the Premier League - Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham - and three from Serie A - Inter Milan, Milan and Juventus. In a statement issued after midnight, they officially declared their intention to go ahead with this competition. This has started that is an open war with UEFA, leagues and associations.

Open war in the elite of continental football. While the European Super League of clubs advances and already has 12 big teams committed to take it forward -among them, Real Madrid, Barça and Atlético-, UEFA, federations and state leagues have exploded with anger and yesterday published a harsh joint statement that branded the project as "cynical". After midnight, the 12 founding clubs made official the new foundations of a competition that will shake up the European football landscape