Lamine Yamal’s trademark trivela: Dissecting the Barcelona star’s work of art
It is a piece of skill Lamine Yamal is making an art form — and yet another reason the 17-year-old is one of the most exciting players in world football. …
La Liga
The Transfer Radar 2025: The Athletic’s ultimate guide to players who could be on the move
Florian Wirtz is a jewel of German football and was central to Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic double last season, winning the Bundesliga’s player of the year award. Alongside Bayern Munich’s …
Barcelona’s 125th anniversary: When their star striker was kidnapped for 23 days
Friday, November 29, 2024, marks the 125-year anniversary of the formation of FC Barcelona. To mark the occasion, The Athletic is running a series of pieces, celebrating the people and …
Kylian Mbappe’s night to forget: That tackle, a missed penalty and attitude questions
Liverpool ran roughshod over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving Carlos Ancelotti’s side — particularly Kylian Mbappe — hurt. At the club, the fans and the media …
Robert Lewandowski interview: ‘Noisy’ Barcelona, ‘fearless’ youngsters and making an impact in Messi-Ronaldo era
Robert Lewandowski was battling against the odds at Barcelona. As their disappointing 2023-24 season came to a close, senior decision-makers at the club were open to the idea of selling …
Real Madrid’s internal tensions: 25 injuries, concerns over running stats and divisive Pintus
Real Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last weekend but the game summed up their misfortunes this season. Yes, it got Madrid back to winning ways after their third defeat of the …
Barca’s new Nike deal explained: Is it really worth €1.7billion? And is it bigger than Real Madrid’s?
Barcelona announced last weekend a new multi-year partnership with kit supplier Nike, extending and updating a deal which had been set to end in 2028. In recent months Barca president …
What I learned from Netflix’s ‘The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football’ documentary
From July-August last year, I was in Australia and New Zealand covering Spain’s Women’s World Cup win — and the scandal that followed when the country’s now-disgraced federation president Luis …
Footballers, modelling and the power of expression
If John Halls was playing the game Two Truths and a Lie, the 42-year-old north Londoner would be difficult to decipher. In 1991, as a young child, he appeared in …
Vinicius Junior, Ballon d’Or disappointment and Real Madrid’s furious reaction
On Sunday, not even 24 hours after the heavy blow of losing El Clasico 4-0 to Barcelona at the Bernabeu, there was another seismic shift at Real Madrid. From the …