Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian striker Neymar has agreed in principle to join Barcelona, July 1. The 21-year-old striker is understood to have signed a deal last week to join the Spanish giants following the Confederations Cup in Brazil, reports Xinhua. Neymar's current club Santos could ratify the deal on Wednesday.
As anticipation surrounding the move intensified, Barcelona star Lionel Messi said Neymar would be a "wonderful signing" for the Catalan club. "I don't know if in the end he will sign with Barca, only he knows the answer to that," Messi told TV channel Qatar Alkass.
"He is a player who has very unique individual qualities. It is clear that for Barcelona he would be a wonderful acquisition." Neymar's move to the Camp Nou would end two years of speculation regarding the future of the Brazil international. A long line of European clubs have been linked to the starlet, including Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus.
Brazil legends Ronaldo and Rivaldo are among a growing chorus of current and former stars to insist Neymar must make a move now if he is to fulfil his potential. Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian winger Lucas Moura is the latest to espouse the benefits of European football....
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02:39 PM, May 22, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Andres Iniesta says Spain cannot yet claim to be on the same pedestal as Brazil in football's international hierarchy. The Barcelona midfielder has been a key member of a Spain team that has won the two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup. Iniesta said Brazil had maintained a unique aura owing to the country's rich football history. "To have won five World Cups like Brazil has...
03:15 PM, May 21, 2013
Madrid: A historic jet plane crashed into a hangar and exploded in a fireball at an air show southwest of the capital on Sunday, severely injuring its pilot who later died in the hospital, officials said. A spokesman for Spain's Defense Ministry said the pilot, Ladislao Tejedor Romero, 35, an experienced jet pilot and assistant to Defense Minister Pedro Morenes, died of his injuries in the serious burns unit of...
09:00 AM, May 06, 2013
Barcelona: Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the eighth time on Sunday after seeing off Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Almagro took it to Nadal early on and built a 3-0 lead, but Nadal found his form and broke his fellow Spaniard in three of his next four service games to take the initiative for good. It was Nadal's 54th career title and fourth this year, having...
09:25 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Barcelona: Seven-time winner Rafael Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open by beating Benoit Paire of France 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Friday. Paire broke Nadal's first service game, but when the fifth-ranked Spaniard found his rhythm he had little trouble extending his winning streak on the Real Club de Tenis' red clay to 36 straight matches. The match was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed due to...
05:01 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Barcelona: World number six Tomas Berdych was given a tough workout by Nikolay Davydenko at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday before seeing off the former number three 3-6 7-5 6-4 to secure a berth in the last 16. Czech Berdych, who had a bye into the second round and is seeded three on the clay at the Real Club de Tenis, served poorly against the 31-year-old Russian, who had won...
11:26 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Barcelona: Spain won a reverse singles match and a doubles match to beat Japan 4-0 in their Fed Cup World Group playoff on Sunday. Carla Suarez downed Ayumi Morita 6-3, 7-5 to give Spain an insurmountable 3-0 lead before doubles pair Anabel Medina and Lourdes Dominguez polished off Misaki Doi and Shuko Aoyama 6-4, 7-5 in a dead rubber. Suarez, who won Spain's first point by defeating Doi on Saturday,...
08:03 PM, Apr 21, 2013
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal was pushed all the way by Grigor Dimitrov before winning his 45th straight match at the Monte Carlo Masters, reaching the semifinals with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory and staying on course for a rematch of last year's final against Novak Djokovic. The top-ranked Djokovic had less of a struggle against Jarkko Nieminen, beating the Finnish veteran 6-4, 6-3 and getting through another test on his...
08:18 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal calmly continued his bid for a ninth consecutive crown at the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-2 6-4 third-round victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on Thursday The Spanish world number five recorded his 44th win in a row in the first big claycourt event of the season to set up a quarter-final encounter with 34th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. The 21st-ranked Kolschreiber did not pose...
06:12 PM, Apr 18, 2013
Madrid: Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has spoken out in support of goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who has been warming the bench at Real Madrid despite recovering from a broken hand. Casillas, the Real and Spain captain and a fixture in both teams for more than a decade, sustained the injury during a King's Cup game in January when team mate Alvaro Arbeloa kicked his hand while trying to clear the...
11:04 PM, Apr 17, 2013
Monaco: Rafael Nadal will talk about almost anything except his knee injury as he bids to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the ninth straight time. The Spaniard has made a staggering return to the circuit after seven months out with a left knee injury, reaching the final of the four tournaments he's played in - winning three - and racing to a career best 17-1 start to the season....
07:57 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Madrid: The Spanish government has raised the minimum legal age for marriage from 14 to 16 years. Spain's Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality Ana Mato on Friday said that change was aimed at "improving the well being and quality of life of youngsters", reported Xinhua. Until now, people as young as 14 years could marry with permission from a judge or their family. ...
02:20 PM, Apr 06, 2013
Cabrera-Bello leads a host of top European names hoping to qualify for the first major of the year at the US Masters. ...
11:10 PM, Mar 27, 2013
France's narrow defeat by Spain exposed Les Bleus's desperate need for a striker with a killer instinct. ...
09:12 PM, Mar 27, 2013
Spain bounced back from their mini-slump by beating France 1-0 to return to the top of their World Cup qualifying group. ...
08:04 AM, Mar 27, 2013
France plan to attack Spain in their World Cup qualifier even though a draw at home would be enough to keep them at the top of Group I. ...
09:01 AM, Mar 26, 2013
Spain will edge closer to an unexpected playoff place if they fail to beat France in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. ...
06:48 PM, Mar 25, 2013
Barcelona coach Vilanova will return to Spain this week after two months of cancer treatment in New York. ...
05:38 PM, Mar 25, 2013
Spain, England find themselves in an undignified tangle at the halfway point on the road to the World Cup in Brazil. ...
09:01 AM, Mar 25, 2013
Alba injured his leg during Friday's 1-1 draw with Finland that left Spain two points behind leader France in the group standings. ...
10:19 AM, Mar 24, 2013
