Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

The injury crisis across football took several victims during this international break, but the anterior cruciate ligament tear suffered by Gavi felt particularly cruel. The 19-year-old was having a monstruous season, starting for Barcelona and Spain, but will now miss the rest of the club season, the Euros and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The question for Barcelona is whether they try to replace him. Sporting Director Deco has explained that that is ‘impossible’ on the market, but Barcelona can bring in a loan signing for up to 80% of Gavi’s wages until the end of the season without salary limit restrictions.

So far the debate is whether they should try and persuade Tottenham Hotspur to part with the almost unused Giovani Lo Celso on loan, or bring forward the transfer of Vitor Roque. The 18-year-old Brazilian striker will join for €30m plus €31m in variables next summer, but they don’t have a back up for the creaking legs of Robert Lewandowski.

Meanwhile Real Madrid have lost Vinicius Junior until February and Eduardo Camavinga until mid-January, to add to a long-term injury list already containing Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois, Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni.

Marcelino will do that, according to Trigueros. pic.twitter.com/r5zfLJewXs

— Football España (@footballespana_) November 22, 2023

Yet the talk about replacements in Madrid is quiet – at least for the players. Conflicting information continues to leak out about Carlo Ancelotti and the potential for him to take over the Brazil job next summer, but Los Blancos have contacted Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi about a potential vacancy. He is added to an impressive list of candidates already containing Xabi Alonso.

Elsewhere, Real Betis are negotiating with Leeds United for midifelder Marc Roca, who has been excellent since arriving. West Ham are interested in Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza, and Sevilla are after Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

In less frivolous news, the public prosecutor has requested a sentence of nine years behind bars and a fine of €150k for Dani Alves if they get a guilty conviction against the Brazilian for rape. Meanwhile former Sevilla and Ajax midfielder Tarik Oulida will escape jail time entirely after sexually assaulting his own six-year-old daughter.

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The January transfer window is on the horizon for many sporting directors, as they look to cover gaps in their teams, fill in for injuries and boost performance. One name on the table for a number of Premier League clubs is Juventus starlet Samuel Iling-Junior. 

The 20-year-old was impressive last season down the stretch, providing some spark to Massimiliano Allegri’s side from the left side. A right-footed winger who likes to beat his man and come inside, Iling-Junior has made just four appearances this season in Serie for Juve.

Hence he is poised to move this January. While it is not yet clear if La Vecchia Signora are open to a permanent deal or merely a loan offer, he is likely to move this winter for more minutes, which is his priority.

Samuel Iling-Junior • Bachelor
pic.twitter.com/yKww2g8SEy

— Hugo ? (@HugoFilmz28) November 13, 2023

After initial interest was revealed from Tottenham Hotspur, TeamTalk say that Spurs are one of four clubs primed to make an offer for Iling-Junior in January along with Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham.

While Spurs and Villa are chasing European competition, Everton and West Ham might offer him a more of a shot at the minutes he needs to continue his development. Blessed with pace and the ability to glide past defenders, he is the sort of forward that any manager likes to be able to turn to, although far too often from the bench.

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Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

If they weren’t already, Real Madrid’s miracle victory, by the hand of miracle man, confirmed that Spain, or more accurately Madridistas, are obsessed with Jude Bellingham.

His Clasico brace was confirmation to many in La Liga that perhaps nobody, on form, in the world is better. The 20-year-old’s performance was Cristiano Ronaldo-esque, scoring twice from nothing and swinging the game in their favour. So mature for his age, even his answers about being mature are mature.

It’s been a big week for Los Blancos. Vinicius Junior renewed until 2027, Rodrygo Goes renewed until 2028, and the noise about Kylian Mbappe is growing once more, confidence that they can sign him rising with it. Meanwhile they are lining up a move for Portuguese central defender Goncalo Inacio, according to the latest reports, as well as Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies.

Even Jude Bellingham's answers about being mature are mature. pic.twitter.com/vbNmnYu6aX

— Football España (@footballespana_) November 3, 2023

As Barcelona lick their wounds, Ilkay Gundogan’s post-Clasico rant went viral, but Xavi Hernandez told the press that not only were they making a mountain out of a mole hill, but that he agreed with Gundogan. They too are rethinking their transfer strategy though, and will scour the January market for an impossible task: a cheap, quality holding midfielder.

Everything was going swimmingly for Atletico Madrid, with reports that Diego Simeone has agreed to a new contract surfacing early in the week for the form side in La Liga. That was until they ended Las Palmas’ 36-year wait for a home win against them on Friday night, going down 2-1 and missing the chance to go top.

Meanwhile Real Sociedad host Barcelona on Saturday night. Tottenham Hotspur will be watching. Spurs are reportedly scouting midfielder Brais Mendez, who has 10 goal contributions in just 14 games this season, and is being tipped for a return to the Spain team. And in positive news, Nabil Fekir is back in the Real Betis squad, eight months after tearing his ACL.

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Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

It couldn’t have just been about glory of winning the World Cup for the first time in their history in the women’s game. A sensational achievement, giving they were fighting for professional pay just four years ago, that should have formed the basis of this article. But this week in Spain has been dominated by a man instead, who kissed Spain’s star forward without consent.

The incident occurred during Spain’s celebrations, when President of the RFEF (Spanish FA) Luis Rubiales grabbed Jenni Hermoso’s head and kissed her on the lips without her consent. After the match during a live stream, Hermoso said ‘What am I supposed to do? I didn’t like it though.’

Outcry was starting to gather pace back in Spain, but things seemed to calm down when Hermoso emitted a statement saying that it was a spontaneous moment, that meant nothing to either of them and they had an excellent relationship. Except that it wasn’t her who had written or said those words, rather someone in the communications department at the RFEF.

Rubiales apologised, in a sense of the word, but Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for further action, while Vice-President Yolanda Diaz became part of an overwhelming mass demanding his resignation. On Wednesday, Hermoso put out a statement with her union, who will pursue action against Rubiales – her testimony could be key legally, and it obliterates any of the arguements Rubiales had been hanging onto. The latest is that Rubiales is determined to hang onto his job, and is negotiating his own six-month suspension, a deal which would allow him to theoretically appease the calls for his head, but then return in 2024 for the elections.

Villarreal (A)
Osasuna (A)
Real Betis (H)
Celta Vigo (H)
Real Mallorca (A)
Sevilla (H)
Granada (A)

The games that Pedri is likely to miss for Barcelona following his injury, including the first two rounds of the #UCL groups. #Barca #Pedri pic.twitter.com/qDdmwCCPZR

— Football España (@footballespana_) August 24, 2023

Elsewhere, for once Barcelona and Real Madrid are the less murky side of things. The Blaugrana are still waiting on shifting on or two more players to leave, and a couple of payments to come through in order to get the Joao Cancelo deal over the line. The appears to be resolved, but Xavi Hernandez still has to work out how to setup his midfield, especially after Pedri went down with another injury. Many amongst the fanbase believe he is their best player, but increasingly, his fitness concerns limit what impact he can have.

Real Madrid have been pretty quiet, although Carlo Ancelotti has definitively ruled out a move for Kylian Mbappe this summer. Also Toni Kroos has been less quiet, destroying Gabri Veiga for his decision to head to Saudi Arabia. The 21-year-old has been courted by some of the biggest and best teams in Europe, but with his deal to head to Napoli on the ropes, Al Ahli have pounced to take his signature.

Atletico Madrid are desperate for a holding midfielder, ideally Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but unless Joao Felix or someone else leaves, it remains an idea and not a reality.

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Tottenham Hotspur are starting a new era under Ange Postecoglou, but as the Australian boss works out his plans for the coming season, it does bring a degree of uncertainty over which players he may want to maintain or move on.

Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is reportedly subject to interest from both the Bundesliga and La Liga. According to TMW, former side Bayern Munich are interested in bringing Hojbjerg back to the club seven years after he left them.

?| JUST IN: Atlético de Madrid is working on signing Pierre-Emile Højbjerg from Tottenham. ??

[@alaimotmw] pic.twitter.com/jmG6O1Trwq

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) June 19, 2023

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have been suggested as an alternate option too, with Los Colchoneros keen to sign a deeper midfielder and move captain Koke Resurreccion forward. That said, Sofyan Amrabat is thought to be their chief target for the position.

It is not yet known what Postecoglou wants to do with Hojbjerg, but Spurs are in a position of strength. With two years left on his deal, and aged 27, if they do decide to sell him on, then they will be able to recoup a decent fee for the imposing Dane.

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Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

Where else to start than with Lionel Messi? The great Argentine was going to Saudi Arabia, and then to Barcelona, but finally ended up in the place he was touted to finish his career several years ago – Miami.

Barcelona transfer expert Gerard Romero finished the previous week 80% confident that Messi would come back to Barcelona, and by Tuesday night, he had dropped those chances to 1%. And that is despite the fact Jorge Messi, his father and agent, told the press on Monday that not only was he optimistic about a deal, but that was his son’s priority. What happened?

The central factor here is timing. If Barcelona wanted this deal to happen, then they needed to be able to do the deal this week. Still needing to sell players in order to guarantee they could register him, they needed more time to sort their affairs out. Messi had no intention of dragging out his decision in the same way as happened two years ago – when he was left at the altar. Once Messi’s confidence started waning in Barcelona, then it was between Inter Miami and Saudi Arabia. Messi wouldn’t move his family there ‘even for a joke’ if you believe Cadena SER, and thus it was a pretty simple call, if turning down an extra €200m or so can ever be.

Jorge has always been sceptical. Not trusting Barcelona after last time, whatever he says publicly, it seems as if he was least keen on a return to Barcelona. President Joan Laporta, after spending so much time creating buzz about the move, courting Messi, and driving Messi as the major attraction for fans next season, looks a little less smart. And still less so after releasing a petty statement once Messi announced his decision. Inter Miami, Major League Soccer and David Beckham are all quite obviously winners in this, just as Saudi Arabia are losers. The Kingdom made him their tourism ambassador, showed him all the best bits of the country, offered to pay him the budget of a small country, and still he didn’t want to live there…

Xavi had a bad feeling. pic.twitter.com/zMFC5AgDP8

— Football España (@footballespana_) June 8, 2023

Real Madrid meanwhile are dealing with the exit of Karim Benzema, who apparently is more attracted by life in the Gulf, which came as a surprise not just to the rest of the world, but also to them. Jude Bellingham has agreed to join Real Madrid, even if it may cost him up to €30m, and he was slated to be the Galactico signing of the summer. Yet the main problem is now the frontline, with only Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes under contract for next season, following the departures of Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio and Eden Hazard too.

Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be the victim of their panic. Harry Kane is the only forward that compares to Benzema, outside of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. It will be a case of Daniel and Goliath, as Los Blancos look to apply as much pressure as possible on Spurs and Daniel Levy to get a deal done for Kane.

Finally, winning the Europa League doesn’t solve all of your problems. Sevilla might have a lot more money to play with this summer, but not the right person playing with it. Legendary Sporting Director Monchi has reportedly asked to leave the club, citing exhaustion, while the press cite a loss of power within the club. Sevilla remain suspicious though, suspecting a Premier League side behind Monchi’s desire to leave, and are asking for his release clause to let him out. A relationship that has brought them all seven of their Europa Leagues, looks as if it may have a sour ending.

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Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have been so occupied with all the football being played of late, that they have barely had time to engage in their usual shenanigans – however they did spice things up by both losing in midweek.

It looked as if Barcelona had wrapped up the title (again) last weekend when they beat Atletico Madrid by one goal to nil, courtesy of Ferran Torres, earmarked as their last possible stumbling block. They still have an 11-point gap to Real Madrid with just seven games to go, but Los Blancos might have been wondering ‘what if’ after they saw Rayo Vallecano soundly beat them 2-1 on Wednesday – West Ham target Andoni Iraola is unbeaten in league matches against Barcelona, with three wins and a draw to his name.

Of course much more attention was being paid to the inquest at Real Madrid until then. Girona thumped them 4-2 on Tuesday, with Taty Castellanos netting an incredible four goals against them. Castellanos is the first to do so since 1947 in La Liga, and Pep Guardiola will have enjoyed watching his Catalan bretherin become the only side in history with a 50% La Liga win rate against Real Madrid. They too have won three of their six clashes.

What we did not know at the time was just how costly it would prove in the other competitions. On Friday it was revealed that Luka Modrix has a muscle injury, with potential for him to miss the Copa del Rey final and the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City. Carlo Ancelotti will not be short of options either though, and perhaps not next season – after a deal for Jude Bellingham ‘cooled down’, Real Madrid appear to have put it back in the microwave.

Everyone knows Barcelona’s main target is Lionel Messi, but the key thing for the Blaugrana is to sell before the Argentine can come in. Manager Xavi Hernandez has given the green light for the first star to be edged out, with Tottenham, Inter and Juventus all lurking in the background.

Meanwhile Getafe have had a memorable week, although perhaps fans at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez might want to forget it. It was Quique Sanchez Flores who paid the price as he was sacked. President Angel Torres told the squad Jose Bordalas would be returning to the club, but then couldn’t agree a deal with the former Valencia coach. Sporting Director Ruben Reyes was left in charge instead, but just a day later, the latest reporting is that Bordalas mat well come back, after the team asked Torres to negotiate again.

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Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

The international break should be a calm time for those not on international duty, full of rest, relaxation and mental refreshment. Yet Ansu Fati had that ripped away from him when he woke up on Wednesday morning, following his father Bori’s bombastic interview the night before.

The 20-year-old Barcelona forward was in bed while his father made a number of headline-grabbing complaints and declarations about his son’s playing time and future. Bori Fati even admitted ‘he’s asleep so he can’t hear me’, and the next day Ansu apologised to coach Xavi Hernandez, saying those comments were not representative of his own views. It did not clear things up regarding his future at Barcelona though, which looks increasingly uncertain.

The Blaugrana already want to give Xavi a new deal, but he has told the club to wait until the end of the season. He may well ask for a big rise, given he is 12 points clear of Carlo Ancelotti at the top of the La Liga table, but earns a little over a third of Ancelotti’s salary. The top ten earning managers were revealed this week, with two La Liga managers amongst them, and somewhat surprisingly just three from the Premier League.

In Madrid, speculation continues over Carlo Ancelotti’s future, as Brazil players flirt with the Italian. Julian Nagelsmann once tunred down Real Madrid in 2018, but is back on the market, although of course he has been linked with the Tottenham Hotspur job too. Former Spain manager Luis Enrique is also available, and wants to manage in the Premier League, but it does not appear he will do so at Tottenham – at least according to the man himself.

Meanwhile the new Spain boss Luis de la Fuente has had a tough week. After a 3-0 win over Norway on Saturday, he was dragged through the mud following their 2-0 defeat to Scotland. One of the more restrained outlets came up with just the seven major mistakes he made against the Tartan Army. It has been acknowledged that it is too early for de la Fuente to be judged, but he will have to cut out some basic errors of judgement, as was accidentally let slip by former Stoke City and Newcastle United striker Joselu Mato in the following days.

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Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.

Another week, another dramatic case of Barcelona v La Liga. The President of La Liga Javier Tebas is a famously stubborn character and has been doing everything he can to impede Gavi being registered as a first-team Barcelona player. To the point where Barcelona have taken the matter to court.

The judge there gave Barcelona permission to register Gavi temporarily, until he can make a full ruling. Problem being, if he rules in favour of La Liga, Gavi will be available in the summer. Tebas has vowed to fight on.

Hector Bellerin left for Sporting CP and his replacement arrived 18 seconds late according to FIFA, meaning Julian Araujo could not be registered. However on the pitch, Barcelona are not that impressive, but they are now eight points clear of Real Madrid. Aside from the fact that Ousmane Dembele is injured and may well miss their first leg against Manchester United, it’s going quite well for Xavi Hernandez.

Albeit Los Blancos have a game in hand against a hapless Valencia. After just one win in eleven games, Gennaro Gattuso quite Los Che, leaving them just a point above the relegation zone and mired in trouble.

Los Blancos will expect themselves to win that one, but remain hit and miss as their tie against Liverpool approaches. Ferland Mendy is likely to miss that match, but they should have Aurelien Tchouameni, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal back. They did not recruit anyone in January, but it has been confirmed that Fran Garcia will join them at the end of the season from Rayo Vallecano.

Pathe Ciss did not get to leave Rayo for Lyon on deadline day, supposedly leading to him being locked in a room by security to stop him assaulting President Raul Martin Presa – that was after he threw a stapler at him. When he did leave the building, he did not hold back.

There has been plenty of conversation around the Premier League spending, with the €800m plus spree dwarfing the €34m spend in La Liga. The lonely arrival at the big three on deadline day was Matt Doherty to Atletico Madrid on a free. Sevilla Sporting Director Monchi has come under fire of late, but it has been noted how impressive it is that he sold Bryan Gil to Tottenham for €25m and Erik Lamela, and now has both players and the €25m at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Finally, the lamentable Dani Alves case rumbles on. Amid rumours of a pending divorce and a potential lawsuit that will cost him €4.5m, the most curious story related to the matter is his cell-mate, who goes by the name of ‘Coutinho’ and has an interesting past.

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The Champions League draw has been made for the upcoming group stages, which will be completed in record time before the World Cup begins in mid-November. In spite of only two the English sides being seeded first, it appears they have avoided any major threats to top spot.

Group A: Liverpool, Ajax, Napoli, Rangers

Jurgen Klopp’s side will take on Erik ten Hag’s former side, now under Alfred Schreuder. How many of their stars they will have remaining is still open to debate. Their trip to Ibrox should be an electric occasion but the strongest opposition look to be Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli. They will be looking to challenge for the Scudetto and have rebuilt well after losing many of their veterans.

Group D: Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille

Spurs will face a number of useful sides in Group D, but have to be considered strong favourites for the group. West Ham became well-acquainted with Eintracht’s talents last season, but Oliver Glasner’s side have an uphill task to replicate those performances. Sporting made it through to the knockout stage last year but were destroyed by Manchester City, while Marseille are returning to the competition after missing out last year.

Bring it on! ?#UCL || #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/z9IBs4zdUA

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2022

Group E: AC Milan, Chelsea, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb

Thomas Tuchel’s side will face the newly-crowned Italian champions, including a reunion with Fikayo Tomori. Milan will be determined to improve from their fourth-place finish from last season but were roundly beaten by Liverpool last season. RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb have proven against Bayern Munich and Spurs in recent years that they are no pushovers, but Tuchel will not be disappointed with his draw.

Group G: Man City, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Copenhagen

On paper this group looks on the trickier side for Manchester City. Serial European force Sevilla have not started this season well however, looking a shadow of their former selves. Borussia Dortmund are equally something of an unknown quantity at this point in the season too, without Sebastian Haller to lead the line. Copenhagen are unlikely to keep even an obsessive like Pep Guardiola up at night either.

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