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      Chelsea outcast Aubameyang celebrates Barcelona’s El Clasico win in dressing room as he nears transfer exit

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      CHELSEA striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrated with his former Barcelona team-mates after the club’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid on Sunday.The 33-year-old, who has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge in recent months, posed for a selfie with Ferran Torres inside the home dressing room after the crunch clash at the Nou Camp.
      Aubameyang has fallen out of favour at ChelseaCredit: Getty
      The striker was pictured in the Barcelona dressing room on SundayCredit: Twitter
      That is despite the fact that he is still registered as a Chelsea player.
      Aubameyang has played just 123 minutes of football for the Blues so far this year.
      He was left out of Graham Potter’s Champions League squad completely following Chelsea’s January spending spree.
      And he is yet to start a game for the club in 2023.
      Read More on Chelsea
      As a result, the striker has become increasingly ostracised from the first team.
      Aubameyang, who joined Chelsea in a £10million transfer from Barcelona on transfer deadline day in September, had hoped to return to the Nou Camp during the January transfer window.
      However, an important La Liga rule stopped the move from happening.
      He is now expected to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.
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      According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Aubameyang still has an excellent relationship with the Barcelona board and players as well as manager Xavi.
      The Gabon international joined Barcelona on a free transfer in January 2022 after his Arsenal contract was terminated.
      He scored 13 goals in 24 appearances for the La Liga giants during his time at the club. More

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      Barcelona 2 Real Madrid 1: Kessie the hero with 92nd-minute El Clasico winner as Xavi’s troops move 12 points clear

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      FRANCK KESSIE’S stoppage-time winner earned Barcelona a dramatic victory in El Clasico and put them in complete control of the LaLiga title race.Xavi’s side are 12 points clear of their greatest rivals with 12 games left and would need a monumental collapse to avoid being crowned Spanish champions for the 27th time.
      Barcelona’s Franck Kessie celebrates his 92nd minute winner in El ClasicoCredit: Reuters
      Xavi’s side are now 12 points clear at the top of La LigaCredit: Reuters
      Although they were forced to come from behind to complete this turnaround.
      After Raphinha was denied his third goal in as many outings by Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid took the lead nine minutes in.
      Fresh from setting up Karim Benzema’s winner against Liverpool on Wednesday, Vinicius Junior claimed another assist after his cross deflected in off Ronald Araujo.
      It was only the SECOND goal Barca had conceded at home in the league all season and first since December.
      Read more on Barcelona
      Vinicius Jr’s good work gave Real Madrid a shock leadCredit: Rex
      Sergi Roberto celebrates Barcelona’s equaliserCredit: EPA
      But it’s up the other end where they’ve have been struggling in recent weeks with only three goals in four games since crashing out of Europe.
      It’s not been for the want of trying though, and here Courtois was at his best to keep the home side at bay on several occasions before the break.
      Barcelona eventually found a breakthrough on the stroke of half-time when Sergi Roberto was a cool head amongst a hectic penalty area and stroked past the Belgian.
      Rodrygo should have put Madrid back ahead just past the hour mark, while Robert Lewandowski spurned two golden chances to complete the turnaround.
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      Marco Asensio thought he won it nine minutes from time, but his strike was ruled out for offside by VAR following a lengthy delay.
      And in the 92nd minute, Alejandro Balde’s low cross was turned home by Kessie to spark wild scenes at the Nou Camp. More

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      Barcelona 2 Real Madrid 1 LIVE: Camp Nou erupts as Kessie’s last-gasp strike puts hosts TWELVE points clear – latest

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      BARCELONA are now TWELVE points clear of second place Real Madrid after securing a huge comeback win in the El Clasico.Los Blancos took the lead following Vinicus Jr’s heavily deflected cross off Ronald Araujo.
      However, Xavi’s side hit back just before the break courtesy of a poachers effort from Sergi Roberto.
      And Franck Kessie’s brilliant team goal completed the comeback sending the Camp Nou into meltdown.

      Live stream: Viaplay Sports
      TV channel: Viaplay Sports 1
      Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Araujo, Christensen, Kounde, Balde; De Jong, Busquets, Roberto; Gavi, Raphinha, Lewandowski
      Madrid XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho; Modric, Camavinga, Kroos; Valverde, Vinicus Jr, Benzema

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      Follow ALL the action with our live blog below…
      That’s all from Barcelona
      Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2-1 at El Clasico with a dramatic comeback at the Nou Camp.
      Real opened the scoring against the run of play after just nine minutes when Vinicius Junior’s cross from the left caught a deflection off of Ronald Araujo who netted an own-goal.
      But Barca equalised at the death of first half when Raphinha’s effort was blocked by Antonio Rudiger and Sergi Roberto picked up the rebound to score on 45 minutes.
      Los Blancos thought they regained the lead again against the run of play in the 81st minute with Marco Asensio but VAR deemed the scorer was just inches offside before Dani Ceballos’ assist.
      The Blaugrana got their winner in the second minute of stoppage time when a clever back-heel by Robert Lewandowski found Alejandro Balde down the left and his low cross set Franck Kessie up at the far post from where he finished.
      Credit: EPA
      Xavi speaks up
      Barcelona manager Xavi insists his team was superior to Real Madrid during El Clasico.
      The Spanish tactician told Movistar Plus: “Real Madrid posed problems for us later on with the changes and looked dangerous when [Marco] Asensio and Rodrygo were on the ball.
      “I genuinely believe that we were superior to Real Madrid throughout the game.”
      Credit: Getty
      Carlo Ancelotti reacts
      Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti insists the league is not yet lost despite 12 points separating them from in-form Barcelona after their El Clasico loss.
      Ancelotti said: “We played well and also deserved to win. We lost a little balance after the disallowed goal but games can be decided by small details.
      “We have to accept the disallowed goal but have every right to have our doubts over it.
      “We took risks at the end as we had to. We don’t feel that the league is lost but we are still involved in three competitions.”
      Credit: Getty
      Just inches offside
      Real Madrid ace Marco Asensio thought he had scored his team’s winner at El Clasico on 81 minutes.
      That would have been an important win for Real as they would have been only six points behind the top.
      However, VAR deemed Asensio was just inches offside – actually, it was the edge of his elbow that was over the line. A decision that may have decided the title…
      Los Blancos then suffered a last-gasp defeat that now sees them a whopping 12 points away from Barcelona and first place.

      Credit: AFP
      Credit: Getty
      Updated LaLiga table
      Barcelona are so close to their first LaLiga title since 2019 they can taste it!
      Barca are now a whopping 12 points clear at the top of the table after their win at El Clasico.
      Real Madrid needed that victory as they were already nine points away from first place.
      Real are now far closer to third place with Atletico Madrid five points behind them.
      More below:

      Barcelona vs Real Madrid stats
      Barcelona dominated 54 per cent of possession against Real Madrid at El Clasico.
      Barca registered a total of 17 shots, but only seven of them were on target.
      Real, on the other hand, produced 11 shots, but only three of them were on target.
      More below:

      FT: Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
      Barcelona beat Real Madrid at El Clasico with a dramatic comeback at the Nou Camp.
      Real opened the scoring against the run of play after just nine minutes when Vinicius Junior’s cross from the left caught a deflection off of Ronald Araujo who scored an own-goal.
      But Barca equalised at the death of first half when Raphinha’s shot was blocked by Antonio Rudiger and Sergi Roberto picked up the rebound to score on 45 minutes.
      Los Blancos thought they regained the lead again against the run of play in the 81st minute with Marco Asensio but VAR deemed the goalscorer was inches offside before Dani Ceballos’ assist.
      The Blaugrana got what they were looking for in the second minute of stoppage time when a clever back-heel by Robert Lewandowski found Alejandro Balde down the left and his low cross set Franck Kessie up the far post from where he finished.
      Credit: EPA
      FT: Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
      Peep!
      That’s full-time in Barcelona!!!
      90+7 Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
      Yellow card
      Referee whips out a double booking for Ceballos and Fati.
      The Real ace reacted after a late tackle from the Barcelona starlet and we get some nasty scenes with all the players getting involved in the fracas.
      90+2 Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
      Barcelona have done it!
      Lewandowski finds Balde to his left with a stunning back-heel and the full-back delivers a cross that finds Kessie at the far post from where he scores with a decisive finish!

      90+2 Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
      Goal!
      Barcelona turn it around with Kessie!!!
      90 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Substitution
      Barcelona boss Xavi brings on Fati, who replaces Gavi.
      Five more minutes of stoppage time to go!
      90 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Yellow card
      Barcelona ace Balde gets booked for bringing Asensio down.
      88 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      With all the VAR drama I missed Torres’ introduction as he replaced Raphinha.
      Barcelona are now defending the draw that would still maintain them in command for the title.
      Real are pushing really hard as they really need the win with nine points away from the top.
      85 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Chance!
      Real ace Asensio tries to get even with a beautiful long-range shot that just misses Ter Stegen’s crossbar!
      83 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      No goal!
      Actually, they haven’t done it again as VAR deems Asensio was just offside in the build-up.
      In fact, it was his ELBOW that was offside!
      81 Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
      They’ve done it again!
      Real break into a dangerous attack with Rodrygo opting not to pass to Vinisius down his left.
      Instead he passes to Ceballos on his right and he delivers a cross to the middle from where Asensio taps it in to Ter Stegen’s bottom right corner!
      81 Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
      Goal!
      Real regain the lead with Asensio!!!
      80 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Chance!
      Kounde gives the ball away at the back and Benzema tries a shot from the edge of the box but Ter Stegen saves with a lunge to his left!
      78 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Chance
      Real star Vinicius tries another shot from the left but it lacks power and Ter Stegen picks it up with ease.
      77 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Substitution
      A triple change by Real boss Ancelotti as Tchouameni, Asensio and Ceballos replace Camavinga, Valverde and Modric.
      77 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Substitution
      Barcelona boss Xavi makes his first change with Kessie replacing Roberto – left it quite late.
      76 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Chance!
      Barcelona play the ball nicely and De Jong scouts Lewandowski’s movement inside the area but the Poland international’s shot just misses Courtois’ bottom right corner.
      73 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Ter Stegen and Courtois are constantly on guard but it’s been a while since they have received any danger.
      Quite a stalemate going on at the Nou Camp.
      70 Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
      Chance
      Real star Vinicius breaks down the left and tries a shot that completely misses the crossbar.
      Load more entries… More

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      Barcelona offer Sergio Busquets new deal aged 34 as midfield legend mulls over FIVE free transfer offers

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      BARCELONA have offered veteran Sergio Busquets a new deal amid a host of clubs being interested in his signature, according to reports. Busquets, 34, is set to leave Barcelona when his current contract expires at the end of the season.
      Sergio Busquets has been offered a new contract by BarcelonaCredit: AP
      However, the Blaugrana have offered him a year-long extension according to Mundo Deportivo.
      Although this would see his current wage significantly reduced.
      The outlet also reports as many as FIVE clubs are interested in signing the midfielder at the end of his current deal.
      Inter Miami’s interest is well known, with manager Phil Neville openly declaring the Major League Soccer Franchise’s intention to try and sign Busquets and other major stars such as Lionel Messi.
      READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
      Another North American team, Toronto FC, are another team interested in Busquets, according to Mundo Deportivo.
      The report adds interest from three teams in Saudi Arabia who also want to sign Busquets for free.
      These being Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab and title rivals Al-Halil.
      The three teams are second, third and fourth respectively in the Saudi Pro League.
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      Busquets is a product of Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, having made his breakthrough to the first team in 2008.
      He has gone on to make well over 700 appearances, winning a plethora of trophies, including three Champions League and eight La Liga titles. More

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      Barcelona looking to sell top stars including Ousmane Dembele this summer to fund transfer for Federico Chiesa

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      BARCELONA are reportedly planning to sell two players in the summer in order to fund a deal for Juventus man Federico Chiesa.And France international Ousmane Dembele, 25, is understood to be one of those on his way out of the Nou Camp.
      Ousmane Dembele is being linked with a move away from Barcelona this summerCredit: Getty
      Juventus could cash in on Federico Chiesa at the end of the seasonCredit: Getty
      The former Borussia Dortmund forward was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea at the end of last season.
      But he ended up penning a new deal to keep him at Barcelona until 2024.
      Dembele, who joined for £135.5million in 2017, has registered eight goals and seven assists in the 2022/23 campaign.
      However, Calcio Mercato are reporting he is still set to be sold this summer.
      READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
      And ex-Manchester City attacker Ferran Torres is another expected to make way as Xavi attempts to cobble together the funds to sign Italian star Chiesa.
      Torres, 23, has bagged just 12 goals in 59 games for the Catalan giants.
      It is a poor return for the £50million Barcelona shelled out for him in January 2022.
      If the LaLiga leaders are successful in offloading Dembele and Torres, they will look to sign Chiesa from Juventus.
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      The Serie A club were handed a 15-point deduction for a transfer scam earlier this season.
      And it means missing out on Champions League football is set to force them to sell players.
      Adrien Rabiot and Dusan Vlahoic are two stars being linked with a departure.
      Chiesa is another in danger of leaving – with Barcelona monitoring his situation.
      The former Fiorentina man, 25, has bagged 20 goals in 77 appearances for Juventus.
      He has also netted four times in 40 games for Italy.
      Barcelona’s desire to keep signing players comes after LaLiga president Javier Tebas insisted earlier this month they are effectively under a transfer ban as they will be unable to register players.
      Speaking at the FT Business of Football summit in London, Tebas said: “As of today, Barcelona doesn’t have any room in its budget to spend in the upcoming transfer window.
      “Barcelona has been involved in questionable behaviour which has had an impact on LaLiga – and we are acting accordingly.” More

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      Fans think Eden Hazard ‘cursed’ Chelsea as Real Madrid star’s eerie statement after leaving club goes viral

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      SUPPORTERS think that Eden Hazard “cursed” Chelsea after his eerie farewell statement resurfaced and went viral.The Belgian international secured his dream move to Real Madrid from the Blues in 2019 in a £130m deal.
      Eden Hazard will face his old club Chelsea again in the Champions LeagueCredit: Rex
      Hazard, 32, arrived at Chelsea in 2012 and is regarded as one of the club’s most talented players ever having won the Premier League twice, FA Cup, League Cup and the Europa League on two occasions.
      When the star, who bagged 110 goals in 352 appearances, left he released a statement that read: “Chelsea and Chelsea fans will always be special to me and next season I will look for your results first.
      “I hope that we are drawn against each other in the Champions League next season and every season so we can meet again.”
      And, eerily, his wish has been granted almost fully.
      READ MORE ON CHELSEA
      The two teams avoided each other in the 2019/20 campaign, but they have drawn one another each season since in the Champions League.
      Chelsea beat Madrid 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals in 2021 before going on to win the competition.
      Then, last season, they were drawn together again in the quarters, only this time it was the LaLiga giants that triumphed 5-4 on aggregate before they went on to win the coveted prize.
      Now Chelsea will face Madrid again next month in the Champions League quarter-final – and some fans believe Hazard “cursed” them with his wish four years ago.
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      One tweeted: “His wish came through, he is really ta Wizard, he needs to gimme some uefa champions league predictions.”
      Another commented: “He cursed us after never facing them in the competition before then.”
      While a fellow fan wrote: “Thanks for the curse Eden.”
      Hazard has infamously struggled at the Bernabeu after suffering a number of injury issues.
      He has produced just seven goals and 11 assists in 73 appearances for the club. More

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      Arsenal target Kaoru Mitoma set to be offered record new deal by Brighton as Real Madrid & Man City join transfer chase

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      BRIGHTON are reportedly set to offer Kaoru Mitoma a record new contract to thwart off interest from Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid.The Japanese international winger, 25, has been one of the star men in what has been an impressive campaign for both him and the Seagulls.
      Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma is set to be offered a record new contractCredit: AP
      Following his season-long loan last year at Belgian side Union SG, he has become one of high-flying Brighton’s key men this term with 14 goal involvement in his 26 Premier League appearances.
      Mitoma, who delayed signing a professional contract in his homeland with Kawasaki Frontale at 19 to instead go to university and wrote a thesis on dribbling, arrived on the South Coast for a fee of just £2.7m in 2021.
      Now his displays have seen his valuation rocket to around £35m with a host of clubs keen to snap him up.
      Arsenal have held an interest since January in Mitoma.
      READ MORE ON ARSENAL
      Now TEAMtalk are claiming that Pep Guardiola’s Man City and LaLiga giants Real Madrid are also interested.
      And they state that Bayern Munich are also monitoring the situation.
      However, Brighton are desperate to hang on to the attacker and are allegedly willing to pull out all the stops to keep him.
      Mitoma is currently under contract until 2025.
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      But the Seagulls are set to fend off interest in him by offering the ace and record deal to make him the club’s highest-ever earner.
      Meanwhile, Mitoma will be hoping to secure a day at Wembley today when Brighton face Grimsby in the FA Cup quarter-final. More

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      Barcelona face bleak future amid ‘ref bribe’ scandal.. but the weird and wonderful club will never be shown red card

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      OFF the field Barcelona are a mess but none of their previous scandals equal the new allegations of bribing a referee.The city’s prosecutor alleges that between 2001-2018, two club presidents bribed the vice president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, with £6million.
      Barcelona have been alleged to have bribed a refereeCredit: Getty
      Their defence is that they asked Negreira in his words “to ensure neutral refereeing”.
      An odd objective to request and it seems to suggest some referees were not neutral which is, by definition, the only reason they exist.
      The allegation against former Barcelona club presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu is quite different.
      The charge is that they wanted Negreira “to carry out actions aimed at favouring Barca in the decision-making of the referees in the matches played by the club and thus in the results of the competitions”.
      Read more in Football
      It will be a sensational, long lasting and costly investigation.
      If guilty the club faces a bleak future.
      Heavy fines, lost points, relegation are all possible, although not, I think, closure.
      That would be too much dynamite.
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      As Barca is the very heart of Catalan culture, enforced closure would all but start a war and might even re-charge demands for separation from Spain.
      And arch-rivals Real Madrid have lit a fuse or two.
      President Florentino Perez supports the investigation but as he has form with pressuring a referee, that’s rather like the pot calling the kettle black.
      Both Barca and Real still favour a European Super League and the result of this wrangle could be the end of this obnoxious scheme.
      Bribing refs strikes at the very heart of football.
      Nothing compares with the damage it would cause.
      In the Premier League cries of “you’re a cheat ref” are the crow-like squawks of frustrated fans.
      Referees may make wrong decisions and sometimes appear to be half blind, but instances of corruption in our league are just fiction.
      Which leaves me with two questions: Why on earth would two men running a club worth £5billion try so pathetically, not to mention expensively, to bribe a senior refereeing official who went on to acknowledge payment in his business accounts?
      Why should a club featuring several of the all-time giants of football, Lionel Messi, Xavi, Carles Puyol and half-a-dozen others, even think of risking their future by paying such a dubious source?
      The players are affronted at the idea of needing outside help.
      As former defender Gerard Pique put it “Barca have not bought referees, I would put my hands in the fire on it.
      “If you want to buy a referee, you do it on the ‘black market’, not by declaring invoices and leaving evidence of payments…
      “You go with dirty money and that’s it, things are simpler than going to the vice president of the CTA and paying him. It doesn’t make sense.”
      Since 2001, Barca have won the Champions League four times, the Copa del Rey seven, LaLiga ten, which almost certainly will be 11 soon.
      And now they have debts of £1.3bn and lost Messi to PSG while, according to Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann: “Barcelona are the only club that has no money — but then buy every player they want.”
      They have been fined three times, so far, for breaching LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play rules.
      Read More on The Sun
      A weird and wonderful club.
      But they’ll never be shown the red card. More