Deportes

If it had to be described simply as a football match, it is obvious that the Gamper is no longer what it used to be. The summer trophy, like so many others, has been swallowed up by an overloaded schedule that barely leaves crumbs from the start. Once an exciting prelude that fans, foreign but especially local, took advantage of to see the new signings live against top-class rivals, today it is an excuse to cash in with tourists as the main targets. The Gamper, that said, still maintains that something of a season opener where hopes are still intact, this year more than ever after Hansi Flick’s two consecutive Leagues and the recent and stunning signing of Rodri.

With 54,224 spectators in the stands of the Spotify Camp Nou, Rodri and Lamine Yamal jerseys, and applause for Hansi Flick, Barcelona presented the squad that, pending the closing of the market, will face the 2026-27 season with the goal of defending the League title and fighting for the coveted Champions League.

El Barça completes the summer market coup by officializing the signing of Rodri. The arrival of the midfielder raises some questions about the need to strengthen a midfield line that already has multiple high-level options. But it also presents strong arguments that have ultimately convinced Hansi Flick. This is his tactical profile.

The Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has been temporarily suspended after testing positive for cocaine in a doping test last June during a tournament in Mallorca. This was announced this Wednesday by the ITIA, the International Tennis Integrity Agency, and the athlete himself through a long message on his social media.

Rodrigo Hernández, ‘Rodri’, (Madrid, 1996), does not arrive at Barcelona as just another signing. This was staged by president Joan Laporta raising his fist in the air after dining with the player at the Botafumeiro restaurant in Barcelona after signing the contract that ties him to the club until 2031 following a payment of a maximum of 60 million euros fixed to Manchester City, which could reach 75 in variables. In return, Barcelona gets the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, and, above all, a piece that fits like a glove in Hansi Flick’s Barça machinery. A humble footballer, raised in a family of professionals, university-educated, without social media, and with a surgeon partner, who has maintained a life away from the noise of football. He will wear the number 16 jersey. These are the reasons for his signing.

The day Real Madrid held the official presentation of Jose Mourinho without press or fans and two months after his arrival, the Portuguese coach, who until then had only commented on his time at the white club on his social networks and the club’s television, gave an interview to the Energy program ‘El Chiringuito’, presented by Josep Pedrerol. Florentino Pérez had already been on their set in May, after the absurd press conference to announce that he was calling elections and for which he was heavily criticized.

Johan Cruyff used to say that players who doubted were not fit for Barça. Rodri Hernández never doubted, even though the Madrid-born midfielder was also wanted by Real Madrid. But the international midfielder was clear as soon as Barcelona came into the picture. “It’s true that there were other possibilities, as you say – he argued without mentioning the Whites – but Barcelona was always my first choice. It has always been a reference for me because of its style of play and the values it represents,” he said in his debut. “I keep the reasons for my decision to myself, but I have always been driven by sporting arguments,” Rodri defended his choice, very grateful to Manchester City but excited about Barça’s project: “It is a team that is growing a lot. They have won two consecutive leagues with all the difficulty that entails and in Europe they have been one step away from the Champions League. One of the reasons for coming here is not only the present but the projection of the project,” he proclaimed.

Rodri Hernández is now officially a new Barça player until 2030. After arriving in Barcelona late Monday afternoon and spending Tuesday morning undergoing the relevant medical examination at the training ground, the 30-year-old from Madrid went to the club’s offices to sign his new contract with Barça.

Barça makes the signing of Rodri official and the Spanish midfielder becomes one of the main protagonists of the blaugrana market. Follow all the latest transfer news live, the first reactions, and all the details of his arrival at the culé team.

He is the name on everyone’s lips at Atlético de Madrid since he declared in the middle of the World Cup that the best option was a transfer and that he wanted to “fulfill his dream.” He is Julián Álvarez, who has had to return to the club and train without any news about his market. On the eve of the league debut of the Colchoneros against Málaga (Wednesday, 21:00), Diego Simeone has spoken about the Argentine.