La Liga

In the dying minutes of 2011's Spanish Super Cup final second leg at the Camp Nou, a fight broke out between the players and coaching staff of Barcelona and Real Madrid close to the halfway line. It was an unholy sight. About 20 seconds into the brawl, Real Madrid's then-manager Jose Mourinho drifted into the melee. He made a beeline for Tito Vilanova, Barcelona's assistant coach—who died three years later from throat cancer—and gouged him in the eye from behind.

As Mourinho fled the scene of the crime, Vilanova turned and pushed him in the back of the neck. Dressed in a white shirt and with his head shaved, Mourinho's bodyguard stepped in to stop Vilanova from getting any further. Later in the press conference, Mourinho was asked about the incident with Tito. He said he didn't know who "Pito" was. Pito is slang in Spanish for prick. 

Real Madrid's hardcore fans loved Mourinho for it. A week later, in the final pre-season game before the league kicked off, Real Madrid entertained Galatasaray at the Santiago Bernabeu. Directly in front of the directors' box, there was a huge banner that celebrated the devilment of Mourinho. It read: "Mou, your finger shows us the way."

One thing standing in Mourinho's way, however, was Barcelona. They had beaten Real Madrid 5-4 in the Spanish Super Cup. In seven encounters since Mourinho had taken charge at Real Madrid, he had only managed to beat Pep Guardiola's team once—in an engrossing 2011 Copa del Rey final at the Mestalla, which was decided by a towering Cristiano Ronaldo header in extra time. At the time, Barca had just won three league titles on the bounce and were reigning UEFA Champions League holders.

"I didn't have confidence in Real Madrid at this moment," says Oscar Sanz, a journalist with El Pais. "It was very surprising that the team went on to win 'La Liga de los Records,' breaking all these records, amassing 100 points in the league—which Barcelona equalled the following season—and shattering the goals scored record.

"That team of Mourinho's scored 121 goals, beating the old record of 107—also held by Real Madrid—in the 1989-90 season. Nobody saw this coming, especially because Mourinho is renowned for being a defensive coach, but he demonstrated that season it wasn't true. It suggests that all the controversies generated by Mourinho benefited Real Madrid in the end."

As well as his dirty tricks, Mourinho had a squad that was stocked with FIFA World Cup champions (including Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos and future winners Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira), Ballon d'Or winners (Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka) and talents such as Pepe, Marcelo and Karim Benzema, players who would end the decade with pockets full of UEFA Champions League winners medals.

Ronaldo was at the peak of his powers. He scored 46 goals in the league campaign. It was an extraordinary haul, and the most prolific season of his career. Remarkably, his tally included hat-tricks in both Madrid derbies (which only represent a fraction of the goals he's scored while tormenting Atletico Madrid over a 10-year period).   

For sheer gall, one goal stood out. In Real Madrid's last game in February 2012, they made the short hop to the Vallecas Stadium to play Rayo Vallecano. The game was deadlocked when Ronaldo decided the game early in the second half. Real Madrid won a corner kick, which Ozil took. The ball bobbled in the box until it scuttled away from the penalty spot.

Ronaldo followed it and then, with his back to goal and with seemingly nothing on, he hopped once on his left foot to give himself enough lift-off to stab a fierce backheel with his right foot from eight yards out. It all happened so quickly and was such an unexpected manoeuvre that it caught Rayo's defence off-guard. The ball flew into the bottom corner of the net while Rayo's goalkeeper, Joel Robles, stood rooted to the ground.

That 1-0 win against Rayo was in the middle of an 11-game winning streak. One of their most distinctive traits was their solidity. They were a team stocked with hardened professionals who never took a step backwards. They bullied teams and could depend on either Benzema or Gonzalo Higuain, who each broke the 20-goal mark for the La Liga season, as well as Ronaldo, to complete the job.

"Real Madrid that season were a very physical team—aggressive, but not violent," says Tomas Roncero, a journalist with Diario AS. "For it to function—and to beat Barca in particular, a team which was playing like a violin at the time under Guardiola—it needed 11 players who were united and committed. Maybe because of the importance of this structure, Cristiano was more liberated in attack, but the rest of them used to go at opposition teams like they were in the army.

"Rival teams took note. Real Madrid never lost a physical battle. When Real Madrid went to Pamplona in March, for example. In other times, it used to be a hostile stadium where Osasuna fans intimidated Real Madrid, but not this team. They ate them, scoring five goals. It was because Real Madrid were more superior in the physical battle. They were warriors. Men like Sami Khedira, Pepe, Ramos. They were very difficult to beat."

Guardiola's Barcelona team—which had Lionel Messi at his most destructive and in the middle of scoring 50 league goals over the season—still had the upper hand over Mourinho. In December 2011, the teams met in the league at the Bernabeu, which Barcelona won 3-1.

The two teams met again at the same stadium in the Copa del Rey a month later—in a game that became notorious for Pepe's stamping on Messi's hand. Barca won again, 2-1 this time, which, after a 2-2 draw in the second leg, was enough for Barca to progress to the next round.

Mourinho—who Barcelona rejected when they appointed the then-novice coach Guardiola as head coach instead of him in 2008—was at breaking point. After the second leg of the cup tie at the Camp Nou, he waited in the car park, which is in the bowels of the stadium, and was photographed waiting to criticise the referee for his performance.

"The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barca, and Mourinho and Guardiola, was very intense at the time," says Roncero. "Mourinho knew how to rouse Real Madrid's fans. In Mourinho's first two seasons in charge, Real Madrid's fans listened to him. They agreed with his grievances—the mistakes that referees were making, the unfair fixture list, and so on. Before Mourinho arrived, fans felt ignored by the club. The club acted—under the direction of its president Florentino Perez—politically correctly.

"Most of time, everyone seemed against Real Madrid. People liked Barca more because of their tiki-taka style of play with Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Messi. It looked like everybody wanted Barca to win. Real Madrid were persecuted. Mourinho criticised Barca in public, in press conferences. The tension he generated passed to the pitch, and from there to the terraces. It led to a period we call 'the storm of clasicos'—a run of Madrid-Barca games each season that aroused spectacular attention and lots of controversy."

In the league title race, things came to a head when the teams met at the Camp Nou in late April 2012 on a balmy evening. There were only four rounds of games left to play after this match, and Real Madrid had the upper hand—Barca trailed Mourinho's side by four points. It was D-Day.

Khedira gave Real Madrid an early lead with a scrappy goal scored from a corner. Midway through the second half, Alexis Sanchez equalised for Barcelona. A minute later, Ozil provided the assist of the season—a 40-yard pass into the path of Ronaldo, which was hit with such nonchalance that it hoodwinked Barcelona's central defenders, Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol. 

Ronaldo celebrated his goal—which effectively decided the league title race—with his famous hand-waving "calm down, Cristiano is here" message to the TV cameras assembled by the corner flag. The ingenuity from Ozil—who provided 17 assists, the most of any player in La Liga that season—was instrumental.

"Mesut Ozil had the best season of his career without a doubt," says Sanz. "He was key to everything Real Madrid did. Mourinho did something very risky in deploying Ozil because he wasn't a defensively minded player, obviously, but Mourinho constructed a barrier in the centre of the pitch with Khedira and Xabi Alonso around him so Ozil had total freedom. His back was covered."

Real Madrid's 2-1 win was the club's first league victory at the Camp Nou since 2007. The club wrapped up the league title with a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames with a couple of games to spare. It was the high point of Mourinho's reign at the club. He managed to put a stop to Guardiola's dominance in Spain. The Catalan coach left Barcelona at the end of the season and—exhausted—took a year's sabbatical from the game.

"Mourinho's three years at Real Madrid were not a success," says Roncero. "For me, his only success was 'the league of the records' because it was against the greatest Barcelona team of its history and with great statistics and great football. It had a lot of merit, but the achievement is not that high in the affections of Real Madrid's fans.

"Real Madrid's 'Quinta del Buitre' team in the 1980s didn't win a European Cup, but it was the best team that I saw in my life playing football. In attack, it was a continuous symphony. The Real Madrid team that won five European Cups in a row with Alfredo di Stefano, Paco Gento, Ferenc Puskas was a machine. Di Stefano played in five consecutive European Cup finals and scored in each of them. It's something that Messi or Cristiano or Pele never achieved.

"Real Madrid's 'Galacticos' team was surely a worse team than Mourinho's Real Madrid, but it was more charming. If you see on the pitch at the same time, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo and Raul passing the ball to each other, it's something to behold. Real Madrid's season of the records in 2011-2012 was fantastic, but it lacked some charm, the power to seduce you. It's a rung below the other great Real Madrid teams in its history."

          

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz

Celta Vigo forward Fedor Smolov ignored a lockdown order and left Spain to return to Russia for his fiancee Maria Yumasheva's 18th birthday party, according to The Guardian. 

He was the second Celta Vigo player to defy the quarantine order after forward Pione Sisto drove home to Denmark last week. 

"The player repeatedly requested permission to travel to Russia for a personal matter," a club source told AS regarding the 30-year-old Smolov (via The Guardian). "The club could not give it to him because La Liga did not authorize it, but he promptly reported his movements and left with the commitment to return once he solved his personal affairs."

Smolov said last week he understood he wouldn't be able to visit his fiancee, Yumasheva—who is the granddaughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin—due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair were engaged in January.

"I get along well, nothing new can happen," he said. "I don't think about anything and I accept the situation."

Apparently not. Smolov is now reportedly facing a fine upon his return, per The Guardian.

The forward has made five starts for Celta Vigo this season, with one goal. He joined the club on loan in late January. 

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and the club's players have agreed to a 70 percent pay cut after the team announced it would present an ERTE during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Rodrigo Faez and Alex Kirkland of ESPN, a step that Spanish businesses can take during an emergency to cut the wages of its staff.

The club released the following statement Thursday:

"The first team squad and coaching staff understand the club's need to present an ERTE, respect its conditions and accept the resulting financial impact on their incomes. All members of the first team have reached an internal agreement with the club that defines two different scenarios depending on the final outcome of the 2019-20 season. The filing will mean a 70 percent reduction in the salaries of coaches and players of the men's first team, the women's first team and Atletico Madrid B, while the state of emergency lasts."

Per Faez and Kirkland, Simeone and the players "were keen" to help the support staff by taking the pay cuts, which will supplement 50 percent of the salaries for 430 Atletico employees. Team executives will pay the other 50 percent. 

Atletico's La Liga rivals, Barcelona, took similar measures, with its players also taking a 70 percent pay cut, while in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Schalke 04 and Hoffenheim have enforced player pay cuts. 

And La Liga clubs Espanyol and Alaves will also present ERTEs to reduce wage bills amid the coronavirus pandemic. Faez and Kirkland reported that Real Madrid "have no plans to take similar measures."

As of Thursday, there have been over 962,000 reported cases of COVID-19, per CNN.com, with 49,180 deaths. In Spain there have been over 110,000 cases and 10,003 deaths. 

When, or if, La Liga's season resumes, Atletico will attempt to claw back into a top-four position. The Spanish powerhouse sits in sixth place on 45 points. 

It was two years ago that Real Madrid first began to think about buying Harry Kane.

As Cristiano Ronaldo made a move across Europe to join Juventus, there became a sudden need for a new goalscoring Galactico.

They looked at the very elite—Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard were all there. Robert Lewandowski, too. But so was Tottenham striker Kane.

Intermediaries working on behalf of Madrid reached out at that time to get a feel of what it would take to land Kane, but the answer was not welcoming. Spurs valued him at £200 million, and, more than that, chairman Daniel Levy wasn't keen on talking even at that price. 

So Madrid walked away and eventually signed Hazard from Chelsea in 2019 as their new superstar, adding Luka Jovic as back-up striker to Karim Benzema.

But that Ronaldo void still remains.

Hazard and Jovic have scored just three goals between them this season. And, now, as Kane raises doubts about his future at Spurs, there is a feeling Madrid might take another look in his direction.

Harry Kane was honest about his Tottenham future 👀 pic.twitter.com/VPm2nXNdot

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 29, 2020

Chairman Levy believes he owns one of world football's most complete strikers, and the message being delivered by sources around the club right now is that even in these difficult times, he'll take some persuading to budge on Kane's valuation.

With football on hold due to the spread of COVID-19, there is concern within the game about how you can put a price tag on any player. What is value at a time when so many businesses, clubs and individuals are  enduring such a struggle to make ends meet?

But with Kane, sources say it's difficult to see Spurs changing their stance. At the very lowest, they think Spurs would expect £150 million for him.

Levy has just announced 550 non-playing staff will take a 20 per cent pay cut, and there are obvious concerns about budgeting and squad salaries at a time when there is no matchday revenue and a chance TV money might have to be repaid.

He has always been careful with cash at Tottenham, but that is why some sources feel that could lead to Kane leaving. How will he match Kane's ambition?

From their own conversations with Kane, Spurs know that UEFA Champions League qualification is crucial to keeping him content. They also know that strengthening the squad to prove they can compete at the top level is vital. 

Yet, there is concern right now about whether they will be able to satisfy him on either front.

There is only an outside chance of playing in the Champions League next season, and it seems unlikely Levy is going to heavily strengthen the squad on the back of the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of a statement released by the club, Levy said: 'When I read or hear stories about player transfers this summer like nothing has happened, people need to wake up to the enormity of what is happening around us. ... We may be the eighth largest club in the world by revenue, according to the Deloitte survey, but all that historical data is totally irrelevant as this virus has no boundaries.'

There is more uncertainty than ever before.

The Spurs hierarchy know Kane craves trophies—that is one of the reasons Jose Mourinho, a serial winner, was brought to the club.

But when the player was quizzed by Jamie Redknapp over Instagram and delivered a public warning with authority, precision and confidence, it surprised many—even some that know him well.

"I love Spurs," he said. "I'll always love Spurs, but I've always said if I don't feel we're progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I'm not someone to stay there for the sake of it.

"I'm an ambitious player. I want to improve, get better and become one of the top, top players. It all depends on what happens as a team and how we progress as a team. So it's not a definite I'm going to stay there forever, but it's not a no either."

Kane, 26, is giving Spurs an ultimatum: Start winning or I'm off. 

Only a handful of clubs could even consider signing Kane, though, and of those it is Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City that hold genuine interest.

Kane's latest words have given all of them something to think about, but Madrid remains the most likely landing spot if he does leave.

Sources in Spain are adamant that he is still on their radar as a potential replacement for 32-year-old Benzema. But when an approach might happen becomes the next question.

Right now, Paris Saint-Germain's Mbappe remains the club's absolute priority, so they will look to see how that situation opens up. Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland is also emerging as a man who fits their mould.

But if neither of those transfers look possible, there is reason for optimism in the case of Kane. Spurs sources indicated to Bleacher Report that Levy would be more willing to let him move to a foreign club than anyone in the Premier League.

So would he go for it?

"Harry has never conveyed any true desire to play abroad, but a move to the Bernabeu has an obvious lure," one insider explained. "I think most people around Spurs accept he won't stay at the club for his entire career, but it would be painful to see him join a direct rival. If he leaves, I think he'll go abroad."

When football returns, those close to Kane are adamant that he will continue to give everything for Tottenham. He is desperate for them to be successful, and he loves being their leader.

But we are approaching the stage where he has a big decision to make over his future—and it is starting to look like he fancies a fresh challenge.

Listen to Dean on the B/R Football Ranks podcast. New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe here.

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Marti Riverola was 20 years old when he made his debut for Barcelona in December 2011. It was at the Camp Nou Stadium for a UEFA Champions League game against BATE Borisov. He wasn't nervous on the eve of the game because he wasn't sure if he'd play. It took him a long time to sleep after Barca's 4-0 win, though, as he was so high on adrenaline and flooded with messages of congratulations from family and friends.

It was peak Lionel Messi time. The Argentinian was in the middle of his most prolific scoring season, netting a record 50 goals in La Liga—though Real Madrid won the league—and tallying an incredible 91 goals in a calendar year. Riverola had not believed his luck when Barca coach Pep Guardiola called him up to train with Messi and Co. for the first team a couple of years earlier.

"At that stage, Messi was my idol, and he still is," Riverola says. "When you first meet him, it's like: Wow! I can't believe I'm meeting Messi. Then five minutes later, you have to calm down and train with him. You have to tackle him. You have to pass him the ball. You're just one more player in the training session. You can't be thinking, Wow, there's Messi over there."

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Frank Rijkaard gave Maso his first-team debut against Athletic Bilbao in the old San Mames ground in 2006. He was part of the crop from Barcelona's most celebrated collection of youth academy footballers—those players at La Masia who were born in 1987 and known as "the generation of '87", which included Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique. Maso remembers the training sessions at La Masia were ferocious.

"The training matches at the academy were more competitive than the games," he says."Messi in training was very competitive. He always wanted to win. When he got on the ball, you could see he was different to everyone else, even alongside Pique and Cesc. He made things look easy, but whenever he touched the ball, something nearly always happened.

"Messi's personality was very unassuming, very straightforward. He was introverted, but once he got out onto the pitch, he came alive. He's always had a winner's mentality, and he was always thinking about football, football, football, how to be the best. It's what put him at a different level and why he continues to be superior year in, year out for the last 10, 12 years. He never lets up. He keeps breaking records, keeps scoring as many goals as the previous season. He's a beast."

One memory in particular stands out for Maso from those early years. It was a game for Barca's under-17 team against Espanyol in the 2003 final of the Catalonia Cup. Seven days earlier, Messi had fractured his cheekbone in a clash during a game. He was so desperate to play the final that he did so wearing a loose-fitting plastic face mask—which the club had made earlier in the season for a similar injury Carles Puyol suffered from a training collision with Frank de Boer.

"It showed you his competitiveness," Maso says. "Playing with a mask on in that Espanyol game wasn't common. I'd never seen it before, or I don't think I've seen it since. But that was Messi—he always showed up. He never shirks. He scored two goals in the game. He never gives a damn about anything else. All he only wants to do is play football."

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Messi made his debut for Barcelona's first team several months later against FC Porto—when Jose Mourinho was the Portuguese club's manager—in a friendly organised to inaugurate Porto's new stadium. Jordi Gomez made his debut for Barca that night in November 2003, too, before spending several years playing in the English Premier League with Wigan Athletic and Sunderland.

Barcelona's squad was full of incredible players, including Puyol, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. (At the end of the season, Deco and Samuel Eto'o joined.) It was Ronaldinho, though, who was a class apart. The fact that Ronaldinho so visibly took the 16-year-old Messi under his wing was significant, Gomez says.

"When Messi started training with the first team, all the senior players could see that he was special," he says. "They helped him to be at his best. Ronaldinho was the star at that time. From the first moment, he took care of him. It was important for Messi that the big star of the team was on his side. Obviously Messi's quality was unbelievable, so I don't know if he needed [Ronaldinho's blessing], but it definitely helped him along.

"The thing about Messi, too, was that he played the same in training as he did in games. He had such talent. He was doing unbelievable things in training, but he made them look easy. And that's the most difficult thing—to bring those performances from training onto the pitch in big games. Some players can do it in training but can't in matches, and Messi has been doing that for years and years."

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Ronaldinho's skill and exuberance lit up the Camp Nou during those early years of Messi's career. After years of disappointment and underachievement following the loss of Luis Figo to Real Madrid in 2000, Ronaldinho put Barca back on top and helped drive them to a UEFA Champions League title in 2005-06. Messi missed that final through injury. It wasn't long, however, before he took over Ronaldinho's role as the team's franchise player.

"The explosion of Ronaldinho changed everything in Barcelona's history," says Cristian Hidalgo, a midfielder who made his debut for Barcelona in 2006 during a Copa del Rey match. "Ronaldinho helped Barcelona to get ahead of Real Madrid.

"Messi wasn't a player who marvelled crowds like Ronaldinho—with his dribbling or his sombreros or his bicycle kicks. Messi did things that looked more simple but were very difficult to do. His ball control was amazing. He'd do nutmegs, but he didn't have to do flashy things with the ball—like Ronaldinho or other Brazilians do to hold on to the ball—because he always had the ball under control.

"The ambition Messi had was obvious. He always wanted more and more of the ball. Whether he was playing in the Camp Nou or in the second division with Barca B or with his friends on the street, he played the same way. His ambition wasn't unusual, but when you combined it with the talent he obviously had, it made him into an incredible player."

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Damia made his La Liga debut for Barca a couple of weeks after Messi's first official start for Barcelona in the league in October 2004. As a footballer who played most of his career in defence, Damia remembers it was next to impossible to stop Messi in his tracks.

"He was playing as a winger in those days," Damia says. "He was so determined to run at the defender all the time. It was so, so difficult to defend against him. When he was young, defenders tried to take the ball from him—and that was a mistake.

"What happens—and it happens when you play against other great players—is that you tend to back off and give him space. Let him play a little bit with the ball instead of lunging in and trying to steal the ball because if you dive in, almost 100 times out of 100, he will have the instinct to avoid your tackle.

"So in those early days, he had a lot of impact in those one-on-one situations because defenders all the time wanted to take the ball from him. He was still only 18 or 19 years old. Later, defenders waited more and began to stand off him.

"Lately, too, he's been going further back the pitch in the positions he takes up. He's taking advantage of this extra space in front of him because he's one of the greatest providers of assists in the game as well as an incredible scorer."

Andreu Fontas, another Barcelona defender, played alongside Messi in the final of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup—when Barca defeated a Santos team featuring Neymar Jr. 4-0 in Japan, with Messi scoring two goals. He says that it's important to defend as a group when confronted by Messi.

"It was impossible to defend against Messi in training," Fontas says. "Imagine what you see him doing in games, what he has been doing now for so many years. In training, he did all those amazing things he does in competitive games as well. He's the best player for me in history for sure. I was very young at the time. It was a hopeless task trying to stop him.

"I tried to stay close to him and not to give him space. The greatest defenders in the world have shown that it's almost impossible to close him down. It takes more than an individual marking him. It takes a team effort. The opposition team has to have a very strong defence and a very strong defensive mentality and be ready to cover him with more than one player, but then the worry is that you're leaving Messi's teammates free to score."

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Riverola remembers what it was like to get praise from Messi when he did something well. It made him feel 10 feet tall, but he tried not to make too much of it. "You're shy," he says. "You think, Oh, thank you. That's it. You don't want to say anything more because it's Messi talking to you. You have to keep your cool and focus on the next ball."

Riverola also recalls the lash of Messi's tongue when he made a mistake. "Messi is like every player," he says. "When something doesn't work out, when you miss a chance, of course they scold you and say, 'You can do better.' Messi isn't different to any other player in that regard. He's ultracompetitive, but he's not overbearing.

"If you don't give him the ball—when he thinks you should—maybe he gets angry, but after a couple of seconds, he's back in the game and concentrating on the ball and everything is forgotten. He only wants the ball at his feet. He's like a child. When he doesn't have it, he always wants it: Give me, give me, give me. Once he has it again, there's no problem."

For several years, the media in Spain have identified "Messidependencia"—the overreliance by Barca on Messi—as a weakness. In a recent interview, Frankie de Jong, a marquee signing by the club from Ajax in the summer, acknowledged the first thing he does when he gets the ball is to look for Messi—he's so much better than everyone else on Barca's team.

"Messi intimidates some teammates, but not in the sense of, Wow, I'm playing with Messi; thinking Messi has to be involved in attacks as much as possible," Damia says. "Some players aren't suited well to Barcelona. They're not able to adapt to such a huge figure in the game. They know Messi is running toward goal to create a chance and he's the best finisher, so they tend to pass him the ball. Not because it's a rule but because he's like a magnet.

"Right throughout Messi's time at Barcelona, it's happened even with stars. You can see some average players suit the team well because they understand the role of Messi in the team, and some amazing players don't assimilate well because they can't fit their game around Messi.

"Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a great example. David Villa when he came struggled to adapt too. Eventually Villa made the jump and performed amazingly. Cristian Tello had a brilliant start at Barcelona, but he tends to go on solo runs all the time. It's the way he plays. It's not a criticism, but you could see he didn't connect with Messi. That was a problem for him to keep going at Barcelona.

"On the other hand, Jordi Alba is probably Messi's best teammate on the team now. You could find better left backs than Jordi Alba, but he's thrived at Barcelona because he's got a good connection with Messi."

   

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz.

Lucas Vazquez has a La Liga championship and three Champions League titles on his resume.

The Real Madrid and Spanish national team winger also has opinions on a number of topics, including who is the greatest of all time.

He sat down for a Bleacher Report AMA on Monday and answered questions about his career, what it is like to play with Cristiano Ronaldo and much more.

              

@362289: Do you think you would have beaten Liverpool (CL Final) in 2018 had Karius not been in goal and Salah not got injured?

We will never know, but before the game started I thought we were going to win 

             

@ModricHazard: Thanks for doing this, @lucasvazquez91 ! What has been your favorite moment with Real Madrid so far?

My favorite moment I think it was when we won any of the three Champions Leagues, those are incredible moments, very hard to describe. If I have to choose, maybe I'd choose the first one, as the first one is always different.

             

@Ochoa2thabone: When the final 90mins hit and you won the Champions League for the first time, when did it really sink in that you had just won a Champions League final?

It's absolute joy to be able to celebrate a title with RM, the team of my life, and the most important title at the team level, it was amazing.

In the first moment, when we are hugging, celebrating, we break the pressure we've been carrying during the whole season and we celebrated together, it was something impressive. 

              

@Citizen_Blue: Lucas, tell us about THE penalty (in the 2016 final vs. Atletico). Especially that glorious walk-up when you were cool as a cucumber, looking like a Harlem Globetrotter!

In that moment when I was walking with the ball in my hand, I was thinking about scoring, scoring the first penalty and to help the team to get the title. I was lucky and the ball got in.

               

@Cruiz3: Why did you ask Zidane for the first penalty in that final?

I asked because I had a lot of confidence, I had been feeling good during the game, and in that moment, in my mind the only thought was to score the penalty. I was convinced I was going to score.

             

@oroz20: Who would be in your all time 5-a-side?

sergio ramos, lucas, karim, cristiano, courtois

             

@MADRIDISTA10: Man WOW I'm a big fan! What current or former soccer player do you idolise the most?

I'd say Luis Figo, I grew up watching him play in Real Madrid, he plays in my position and I've always watched and still do watch videos of him to improve my game through his.

            

@RONAD7DO: In the first leg against Juventus in the 2018 Champions League, you were one of the closest players on the pitch to witness Cristiano's masterpiece of a goal (the overhead kick). How did you feel and what were you thinking at that moment?

I saw a center from Carvajal, and the ball was coming to the zone I was in, and suddenly some legs appeared… I saw it was Cristiano and he scored such a great goal. And I thought it's best that those legs appeared! 

             

@JACKLOWRY: I'm sure you get this all the time but what was it like to play and train with Ronaldo? 

He is an incredible professional and he demanded the most out of himself and his teammates, so he made everybody did their best

              

@Joshuamorrobel: How did you feel when Cristiano left?

You have to understand his decisions, everybody has to follow their own path 

               

@realmememan: What's your favorite sport outside of football?

I love basketball (NBA, ACB in Spain) and I love tennis too.

I like Lebron James' teams.

             

@LucasVasquezFan: Lucas, big fan here… what inspirations have you had outside of people that have played soccer? (non football // non sport // artist // musician?)

I see other athletes as inspiration, like Rafa Nadal, Pau Gasol, Fernando Alonso. I think they are great inspiration for youngsters and for everybody.

                 

@Biggie2210: Would you ever consider playing in MLS?

It would be incredible, I'd love to play in the MLS some day.

                

@M07070707: How does it feel to play against Barcelona? Is it like any other match?

Those are special games, everybody is expectant. Those games are lived with a lot of emotion and there is a lot of joy when you win those games.

             

@JohnDavid06: Would you rather get a winning goal vs. Barca or a winning goal in the Champions League?

For sure the winning goal in the Champions League!

             

@HalaMadrid11: What was it like growing up in la fabrica? How great was it growing up to become a first team player for the biggest and best club in the world?

It was beautiful, there were difficult moments as well but it was a great experience to grow within Real Madrid, and above all to fulfill the dream of any academy player, to play in the first team.

           

@Tristanobrien: Who dresses the best out of all the players at Madrid?

Me, of course!

              

@Jdrummond7: Who's the most challenging player you've had to face in training or on the pitch?

Sergio Ramos. Because of his competitive character, and because he is the best of the world in his position.

            

@ryanmutigers: Better hair: Gareth Bale or Zidane?

Pass. Hahahaha!

             

@AFinkelstein6: Messi or Ronaldo?

Both are incredible players that are making history. Many many years will have to pass to see two players like them.

             

@BenBlackmore: What's the best ground (other than the Bernabeu) you've played at, and is there one you'd like to play at? 

I like the Bayern Munich's and Juventus' stadiums. I'd love to play in Old Trafford.

              

@Tsdinsd: Is Ramos ever as cutthroat (intense) in training as he is at times during matches?

Yes, he is very intense in the day to day. He is an example for all the players and he is the captain he always shows. 

                

@ATMike: Who's been the most pivotal coach to your development as a player that we haven't heard about? How did they challenge you to grow?

In Real Madrid C I had a coach,  Manolo Diaz, he trusted me from the start. He taught me that if I did good I could play wherever I wanted. And I am very thankful to him. 

              

@Tylerhines: How is Zidane in the dressing room compared to the Zidane we always see?

The Zidane we know is very close to the player, always smiling, always helping us to grow as players.

            

@dubs4life17: How does it feel to be part of an organisation like Real Madrid?

I am very proud to be a part of Real Madrid, the greatest team in the world. And it's a joy to be able to enjoy it every day.

              

@hlopez2005: How does it feel to have won three consecutive Champions Leagues?

Incredible! It's a great satisfaction, something nobody has done before us, and I think it's difficult to happen again. 

           

@Rhettro: How do you handle the pressures of playing for a club as great as Real Madrid?

I try not to be affected by praise or criticism. I try to work always to the maximum, do my best. And I have the ambition to become better day by day. 

            

@MightBeGodly: What was your favourite memory playing alongside Ronaldo?

I have many good memories, for example when I gave him an assist against PSG. That was a beautiful moment. 

             

@Cr7halamadrid37: Who is the greatest of all time?

I think it is between Messi and Cristiano.

             

@Amacuna: Do you wish to retire at Real Madrid?

I hope so, I hope I can retire at Real Madrid.

             

@Messigician10: Hey Lucas, how did you feel when you first walked onto the Bernabeu pitch?

I was a little nervous, but also felt a high of so many great emotions, it's very difficult to explain that feeling.

             

@CR7SUUUUUUU: What is your best asset as a player?

My work, my mentality and my verticality.

            

@Grucci: Why do you wear No. 17?

I always loved that number. I like 7 very much, and 17.

           

@ManchesterUTD: What has been the best goal you have scored in your career?

I have many haha

My header against Rayo Vallecano was special, another good one was against Villareal, and all the Champions League goals are special.  

           

@AndrewMayer777: Who on the team is like your 'little brother'?

Asensio

Barcelona announced Thursday all members of its staff and player rosters, including its first-team football and basketball squads, will receive salary reductions while their leagues remain delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sport reported the news. The club also released a statement about the decision:

"Among the measures adopted, those related to the workplace are motivated by the need to adapt the club's contractual obligations with its staff to the new and temporary circumstances that we are experiencing. This involves the presentation of different cases concerning football and other professional sports, as well as for the other non-sporting personnel.

"These cases will be processed before the Government of Catalonia's Ministry of Labour, once the club has shared all aspects related to these measures, and their scope, with all its staff, both sporting and non-sporting. Basically this is a reduction of the working day, imposed by the circumstances and the protection measures carried out, and, as a consequence, the proportional reduction of the remuneration provided for in the respective contracts."

ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens reported Wednesday the players had rejected initial proposals from the club about possible wage decreases because of COVID-19.

"Sources explained that the players are willing to take a hit to their salaries but they are not happy with the terms that have been suggested by the board so far," the ESPN report read. "There is friction between some of the players and some members of the board, which has made negotiations difficult."

Further details about Barca's financial decision weren't immediately released.

The club also announced a series of initiatives it would undertake to help spread awareness about coronavirus and helping avoid the spread of the disease.

"Start an awareness campaign, reinforcing the message '#StayAtHome,' in collaboration with the Hospital de Sant Joan de Deu, which will be broadcast on Barca TV, the club's social networks and communication channels, and which will feature boys and girls who, due to their illness, are on long-term stays at the centre. Together with doctors from various fields, they will explain their experience and encourage everyone to stay at home."

The La Liga season is delayed indefinitely, and UEFA announced the Champions League and Europa League finals have been postponed from their expected May dates.

Barcelona's players rejected the terms of a proposed wage cut amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens. 

Per that report, "Negotiations between the club's captains and the board of directors are ongoing. Sources explained that the players are willing to take a hit to their salaries but they are not happy with the terms that have been suggested by the board so far."

Any wage cut would also apply to the women's first team, the men's basketball team and other groups under the Barcelona banner. But because the men's football team accounts for half of the organization's budget, there is "a particular focus" on them, per the report.

Marsden and Llorens noted there is "friction between some of the players and some members of the board, which has made negotiations difficult," though they remain optimistic they'll be able to reach an agreement. 

Unlike many other soccer clubs around Europe, who have wealthy owners from other businesses, Barcelona's ownership group is comprised solely of its members. And the club is facing a major decrease in revenue amid the coronavirus pandemic, with no matchday or museum revenue and the uncertainty of whether certain competitions will resume, potentially costing the club additional income. 

La Liga has put its schedule on hiatus indefinitely, while UEFA postponed the Champions and Europa Leagues. It remains unclear when those competitions will resume, with the possibility of outright cancellations still potentially on the table. 

Barcelona's players have been giving back during the coronavirus crisis, however. Lionel Messi, for instance, donated €1m to aid healthcare systems in Spain and Argentina. 

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has donated 1 million euros in the fight against Covid-19. Messi's donation will be shared between two medical centres; Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another health care facility in Argentina. #TheScoreKE pic.twitter.com/AoURqTtX6Z

— Carol Radull (@CarolRadull) March 25, 2020

Spain has been hit hard by the pandemic, with over 3,400 confirmed deaths. 

Barcelona star Lionel Messi donated €1 million to the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona to help with the coronavirus pandemic including treatment and research, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo (via Goal's Sam France).  

The hospital thanked Messi on Twitter:

Leo Messi hace una donación para la lucha contra la #Covid19 en el #CLÍNIC. Muchas gracias Leo, por tu compromiso y tu apoyo. @idibaps #Covid19 #YoMeQuedoenCasa
✅https://t.co/crwjKOSBdU pic.twitter.com/P1cqEeNLgD

— Hospital Clínic (@hospitalclinic) March 24, 2020

Messi's donation comes after his former manager, Pep Guardiola, made an equal pledge to the Medical College of Barcelona and the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation. Along with managing Barcelona and playing for the club, Guardiola is a native of Santpedor, Spain in Catalonia.

While not a native of Spain, Messi has spent his formative years in the country after joining Barcelona when he was 13.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner announced March 14 he planned to remain at home and self-quarantine during the pandemic.

A message from Lionel Messi. pic.twitter.com/hHdB43qC4u

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 14, 2020

According to CNN, doctors have confirmed at least 35,000 cases of COVID-19 in Spain, the fourth-most of any country.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Sunday he wants to extend the 15-day state of emergency in order to limit the spread of the disease.

Fernando Simon, director of the Spanish Coordinating Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies, thinks the situation may improve in the coming days but said it was important not to respond too hastily.

"We are approaching the period in which perhaps, if we are lucky, we will turn the curve, stabilize and it'll start to go down," Simon said, per CNN. "The models indicate that we are not very far away, but relaxing the measures prematurely would mean starting again and we have to be very careful." 

Real Madrid were in stunning form when Barcelona came to visit the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on 23 March, 2014. They had won their previous 17 matches at the famous ground and were unbeaten in 31 games.

Barca's Andres Iniesta—who was at the height of his 16-year career with Barcelona—gave little thought to recent history, however, when he ghosted on to a through ball by Lionel Messi to smash home the game's opening goal with a little more than six minutes on the clock. It was a quintessential Iniesta goal—finding space and applying the killer finish.

"The beauty of Iniesta was that he was able to make everything look simple, and he was able to do it perfectly," says Damia, a former Barcelona teammate. "He could just turn and go, and he always did it so naturally. He didn't need to do things spectacularly. He never had to show off. He's so talented in terms of skill. He was so good at interpreting spaces and finding the gaps. His movements are classy. If he got the ball, something happened nearly all the time."

Iniesta's early strike set the tone for a pulsating match in what was the peak years of the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry. Ronaldo was the reigning Ballon d'Or holder (and later that year retained the crown). By the end of the match, a boyish-looking, clean-shaven Messi, who was still only 26, had surpassed the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano as the all-time top scorer in the history of the Clasico.

Both teams were stocked with illustrious names. The only novelty among the lineups was the decision by Real Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti to play Diego Lopez in goal, ahead of the club's captain, Iker Casillas. Lopez, who now plays for Espanyol, had been Real Madrid's preferred league goalkeeper that season.

"Diego Lopez arrived at Real Madrid the season before under [previous coach] Jose Mourinho," says Jaime Rodriguez, a journalist with El Mundo. "Lopez played well, and Iker was relegated to the substitutes' bench. The following season, Ancelotti made a Solomonic decision—he played Iker in the cup games and Lopez in the league games.

"It was kind of a strange decision by Ancelotti. The practice of alternating goalkeepers has become a bit more common now, but at the time the situation generated a lot of noise that wasn't good for Ancelotti, and it wasn't good for any of the goalkeepers either. Ancelotti tried to make both of them happy, or tried to be fair, but in the end neither of them were at their best level that season."

Karim Benzema—who Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano struggled to contain throughout the match—flashed in two goals midway through the first half to put Real Madrid ahead. Then a few minutes before half-time Messi pounced to square up the match again.

A trip by Dani Alves on Ronaldo (which appeared to be outside the box) led to a Real Madrid penalty 10 minutes into the second half, with Ronaldo converting it to give Real Madrid the lead again.

The game's decisive moment occurred in the 63rd minute. Messi picked up the ball close to the halfway line and threaded a pass into the path of Neymar Jr., taking out five Real Madrid defenders in one instant. 

It was a big moment for the Brazilian. His first season at Barcelona had already triggered huge institutional turmoil. Two months before the clasico, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell resigned over misappropriation of funds in Neymar Jr.'s transfer from Santos the previous summer.

There were misgivings about the impact Neymar Jr.—flamboyant, possibly unsettling for Messi—would have on Barcelona's dressing room. The club's great ideological leader, Johan Cruyff, believed he would disrupt the balance of power in the team. "Messi and Neymar? I wouldn't put two captains on the same ship," he remarked famously.

"Neymar's time at Barcelona started with performances that weren't out of the ordinary," says Jordi Quixano, a journalist with El Pais. "By the end of the season, though, he finished with good stats. Above all, he provided more important assists than great goals.

"Neymar got on well with Messi. Neymar's connection with Messi was better than, say, Antoine Griezmann's is with Messi this season. When Neymar arrived at Barcelona, he understood that his role was to serve Messi even though Messi finally took him aside one day and told him: 'Go and play. Express yourself, and stop thinking I am the best.'

"With Griezmann, it is the contrary. Griezmann is a player who has arrived and doesn't know how to adapt to the team. The team plays in a certain way, and Griezmann doesn't have the tools that Neymar had to adapt. Neymar was explosive. He could dribble. He could decide a match.

"Griezmann has always been the player on the team that other players play for, and Barca doesn't play for Griezmann. He's just another cog in the machine. Any quality player that comes and has the predisposition to play on the wing, and to play for Messi—as Neymar did back in the 2013-2014 season—will do better than Griezmann."

When Neymar Jr. got on the end of Messi's through ball, he took one touch which took him into the box. Scrambling to cover, Sergio Ramos took him down. A penalty was awarded, which was converted by Messi. It was a straight red card for Ramos—the 19th in his career.

"Real Madrid fans are more forgiving when Ramos gets a red card in a clasico," says Rodriguez. "For example, when he got sent off towards the end of the 5-0 defeat at the Camp Nou under Mourinho in 2010. That was a red card out of desperation. He could have injured Messi badly. Even Real Madrid fans forgave him for that one because there was so much tension around. And in a clasico when Messi is around anyone would get desperate."

As the game entered its final throes, a tired Real Madrid conceded another penalty when Dani Carvajal and Xabi Alonso upended Iniesta in the box after some of Iniesta's deft football. Messi scored the penalty—marking his second hat-trick in a row—to close out the game 3-4 for Barcelona.

The win meant Barca narrowed the gap to one point on joint leaders, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, at the top of the table, but their season would unravel shortly afterwards. Within a few weeks, they were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final by Atletico and lost the final of the Copa del Rey 2-1 to Real Madrid, a final that will forever be remembered for Gareth Bale's galloping match winner.

Barcelona were in flux that season. They had just come off a 100-point league title victory, but their coach Tito Vilanova had to step down in the summer of 2013 because his condition had deteriorated following his throat cancer diagnosis. Sadly, Vilanova died in late April 2014, a little over a month after the historic 4-3 clasico. His successor Gerardo "El Tata" Martino was a poor fit and was ridiculed in the Spanish press for his shabby dress sense.

"There was a serious rumour that Messi's father advised Rosell to appoint him because he used to be his idol when Jorge Messi was young," says Quixano. "Rosell knew Martino from Rosell's years working in South America with Nike.

"Martino didn't convince the team. When he talked tactics, he knew less than the players. When a Barca player told him, 'hey, such-and-such thing is happening,' and he didn't know how to respond, the players lost confidence in him. They just went through the motions. They were like factory workers, punching in their time cards. They'd go training at the Ciudad Deportivo, do their shift, and go home again. Nothing more. The players disengaged that season under Martino."

The league title campaign went down to the wire. Real Madrid—who finished the season by winning the UEFA Champions League final in a dramatic 4-1 extra-time victory over Atletico Madrid—dropped points carelessly in the run-in to fall out of contention.

"Real Madrid played the fool for a while in April and May. Their minds were on the upcoming Champions League final because they lost a championship that they could have won by lacking focus," says Rodriguez. 

In the last league game of the season, Atletico Madrid went to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona. It was the first time since 1951 that a head-to-head decider would conclude the title race. Atletico squeezed out a 1-1 draw. Diego Godin got the all-important second-half equaliser, against an insipid Barcelona side, to secure Atletico's first title since 1996.

"Atletico had a lot of merit in winning that title—to keep pace with a Real Madrid team that ended up winning the Champions League, and against a Barcelona team that had Messi, which is always dangerous," says Rodriguez. "But in the end, Barca and Real Madrid were the ones that lost the title, more than a case of Atletico winning it.

"It was almost like Barcelona were already on holidays for that title decider against Atletico. All they had to do was win a home game against an Atletico team with their tongues hanging out—Atletico were running on fumes by that stage of the season—to become champions.

"If Barca had to play that match against Real Madrid, they would have won, but against Atletico the feeling was that they didn't even care about losing, just so long as it wasn't to Real Madrid. It surprised me a lot the attitude of Barca. It was like they thought that Atletico winning the league title was the lesser of two evils."

                  

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz