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Barcelona beat Espanyol to win first La Liga since Messi’s exit

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Barcelona has won their first Spanish league title since Lionel Messi left the club two years ago, despite facing financial difficulties. They achieved a 4-2 victory over Espanyol, although the match was marred by Espanyol fans storming the pitch at the end of the game. Robert Lewandowski played a key role, scoring two goals to secure Barcelona’s league title with four rounds remaining.

This is the first time since the 1998-99 season that Barcelona has celebrated a league title without Lionel Messi in their squad. Messi joined the team in the 2004-05 season and won the league title that same year.

The on-field celebrations were cut short when a group of Espanyol fans, particularly from the ultra section behind one of the goals, rushed towards the Barcelona players. Security guards quickly intervened, and riot police had to block the tunnel entrance to prevent the fans from entering. The fans threw chairs and other objects during the incident.

In addition to Lewandowski’s goals, Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé also scored for Barcelona. This victory brings Barcelona’s total number of league titles to 27, which is eight fewer than their arch-rivals, Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid, who currently hold the third position, are 16 points behind after losing 1-0 to the last-placed team, Elche, earlier on the same day.

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Brazilian footballer Neymar faces fraud trial in Barcelona

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Neymar, the football player, moved from Brazil to Barcelona nine years ago, and now he is being tried for suspected irregularities in the transfer. The Brazilian international who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain is charged with fraud and corruption in a judicial battle that has dragged on for years.

One month before the World Cup in Qatar, the trial is scheduled to begin on October 17 and last for two weeks. Other individuals are also scheduled to go on trial. According to Spanish publications, the same accusations are levelled against Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, two previous presidents of the Barcelona football club, as well as Neymar’s parents.

All parties involved in the dispute have consistently refuted the claims made by investment group DIS, which claimed it was due a 40% cut of the money Neymar paid to leave Brazilian side Santos in 2013. Legal disputes have long cast a shadow over the exorbitant transfer fees paid for the 30-year-old PSG midfielder.

An out-of-court settlement involving the footballer’s record €222m transfer to Paris St-Germain in 2017 was agreed by Barcelona and the player a year ago. When he signed a new deal in 2016, the team declared at the time that he needed to repay the millions of euros he had earned. But the Santos transfer in particular has resulted in a number of financial and legal disputes.

Due to irregularities in the transfer, Barcelona agreed to pay a €5.5 million fine to Spanish authorities in the Neymar 1 court case from 2016.

Prior to being exonerated of charges of money laundering for broadcast rights in 2019, Sandro Rosell, who resigned as the club’s president in 2014 amid the transfer investigation, served 20 months in prison.

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Jihadist attacks: 3 sentenced over 2017 Barcelona and Cambrils jihadist attacks

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Three men who assisted the perpetrators of jihadist terrorist attacks in and in 2017 16 people killed around at Barcelona have been jailed in Spain.


Two of the group were handed sentences of 53 and 46 years, while a third man was given an eight-year jail term. Before a twin attack was launched in a nearby town of the perpetrators rammed a van into pedestrians in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas tourist area. The Islamic State group (IS) said it carried out the attacks.

Mohamed Houli Chemlal, 24, and Driss Oukabir, 32, were sentenced to 53 and 46 years respectively for offences that included belonging to a terrorist group and manufacturing and possessing explosives. A third man, Said Ben Iazza, 26, was given an eight-year term for helping with a terrorist group.

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Barcelona mayor appeals for the easing of restrictions on children

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Expressing her concern about the psychological impact the restrictions made to contain the spread of Covid-19 can make on children, Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, who is the mother of two childen aged between three and nine, has appealed for the easing of the restrictions on children.

The appeal has come shortly after Denmark decided to open its primary schools for its children aged below eleven.

In her statement, she has pointed out that Spain is the only country where the restrictions on children exist.

The Mayor has used her social media handle to communicate to the world what she thinks about the present restrictions.

The Mayor’s statement has triggered several serious debates across the world on whether children should be forced to remain inside their homes.

Many people have openly backed the Mayor’s viewpoint that it may cause serious psychological impact on children.

Spain is one of the worst affected countries in the continent of Europe. Since 14th March, the country is under lockdown. Recently, it provided some relief to certain sectors such as manufacturing. Anyway, no information on when the schools of the country will reopen has been released yet.


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Sports

El Clasico not to take place in scheduled time

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This month’s match between fierce rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is less likely to take place in the scheduled date, as the organisers fear that the match may get disturbed due to the ongoing protest in Barcelona against a Spanish court’s decision to jail certain pro-separatist leaders on the charge of sedition.

The match has been postponed as FC Barcelona has denied the suggestion of the organisers to change venue from Barcelona to Madrid.

The proposed El Clasico is very crucial, as this is the first match happen between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona since the declaration of the controversial verdict by the Spanish court against the Catalan independence leaders.

For the last few days, most regions in Catalonia, including Barcelona, have been witnessing serious protest against the verdict.

It is assumed that the Spanish government does not want to let the game take place in this turbulent time in the soil of Catalonia.


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Lifestyle Travel Trending

Plan a trip to the colourful nation – Barcelona

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Barcelona is the capital and largest city of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. Barcelona is the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, Madrid, the Ruhr area and Milan.

It is a colourful city with fanciful architecture. Barcelona is one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centres. Lets have a look at some of the tourist spots.

La Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia was the inspiration of a bookseller, Josep Maria Bocabella, founder of Asociacion Espiritual de Devotos de San Jose. This giant Basilica that has been under construction since 1882, and it’s not expected to be completed for some time yet.

Park Guell

The Park Guell is a public park in Barcelona, designed by famous architect Antonio Gaudi. The Park Guell was not originally planned to be a park, but was meant for a modern housing estate but was officially opened as a public park in 1926. This park is now composed of gardens and architectonic elements located on Carmel Hill.

Casa Batllo

Casa Batllo is a building in the center of Barcelona. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi, and is considered one of his masterpieces. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a legend of architecture and design. While looking at its design, it seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the facade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles of mostly golden orange and greenish blue colours.

The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (National Art Museum of Catalonia) is situated on Montjuic hill. It has an outstanding collection of romanesque church paintings, and for Catalan art and design from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including modernisme and noucentisme. The major attractions are: Romanesque art, Gothic art collection, Renaissance and Baroque art collection, The Cambo Bequest, Thyssen Bornemisza collection, Modern art collection, The Carmen Thyssen Bornemisza collection and the Cabinet of drawings and prints.

Sunaya Paison
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