He swapped La Liga action for the J.League after 16 stellar years at Spanish champions FC Barcelona.
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It will be played at the FNB Stadium, formerly known as the Soccer City Stadium, where Spain won the 2010 World Cup.
This was after they said they would not pay the FC Barcelona playmaker a salary that would distort the market.
Espanyol are 15th in the standings and had only won one of their previous seven games
Barca started the better, slipping through Luis Suarez who was denied by an impressive Raphael Varane block, before the Uruguayan striker volleyed home from the next attack after Sergi Roberto picked him out perfectly from eight yards.
Zinedine Zidane’s Real charges will be heading to Catalonia full of confidence having made it into the final of the Champions League, and will now be hoping to prevent Barca going the entire La Liga season unbeaten.
Turkish referee Cuneyt Çakir will be on the call and he is certainly no stranger to big games at this point in his career. Çakir officiated the 2014-2015 final between Juventus and Barcelona,
“It’s difficult for me and for anyone who likes football. I don’t see him as an FC Barcelona player, but a football man,” Zidane told a news conference on Friday.
With the Europa League semi-final first leg match at Arsenal on Thursday in mind, Simeone rotated key players and Betis tried to take advantage
A victory would also virtually assure them of a second domestic double in three seasons, reinforcing their dominance in Spain.
The former France midfielder spoke ahead of their 2017/2018 Champions League quarter-final second leg against Juventus on Wednesda
They are also in the King’s Cup final and looking strong in the Champions League, where they face AS Roma on Wednesday in a quarter-final first leg clash, as they look to capture all three major trophies once again.
The 25-year-old played in Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat by FC Barcelona in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.
Two-time winners Argentina open their World Cup campaign with a Group D encounter against Iceland on June 16, and will also face Croatia and Nigeria in the pool stage.
The Spain defender said he was unsure of his future after the now Manchester City manager lost faith in him.
“There are a lot of thoughts going on in my head, with some stronger than others,” he told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, with his comments reported by local media on Thursday.
Just as Maradona last featured for the two-time World champions in their 2-1 win over Nigeria in USA ’94 World Cup, the same fate is stirring the Barcelona star when the global fiesta kicks off in Russia.
The Spaniard is a man who has pedigree when it comes to beating the Blues, and his absence is something the Liga leaders have to worry over in the next few days.
The English Premier League leaders have won the English League Cup in Guardiola’s second season in charge and are closing in on their first league title under the Spaniard.
A spokesperson for the organisation told Reuters via email that as the dispute had been submitted to different bodies, FIFA was not in a position to mediate.