Lamine Yamal Signs First Professional Contract with Barcelona

Lamine Yamal has signed his first professional contract with Barcelona.

With the new deal, the 16-year-old Spanish soccer player has extended his stay at the Catalan club until at least 2026.

Lamine Yamal Yamal, a winger, put pen to paper on the deal — which includes a €1 billion ($1.05bn) release clause — at Barça‘s training ground on Monday at an event also attended by president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco.

Until he turns 18, Yamal cannot sign a contract for longer than three years, which is the reason he has not signed longer terms.

It has been a record-breaking year for the forward, who made his first team debut in April while he was still 15, becoming the youngest player to represent Barça in LaLiga. He has since gone on to become the youngest player to ever play and score for Spain, netting on his debut against Georgia earlier this month.

Meanwhile, at club level, he has established himself in Xavi Hernandez‘s squad, making nine appearances in all competitions so far this season, including four starts. He set up the winner, an own goal by Sergio Ramos, in Friday’s 1-0 victory over Sevilla in LaLiga as Barça maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Further records could fall in the coming weeks, with Yamal still able to become the youngest-ever goal scorer in LaLiga and the Champions League. That record is held by Ansu Fati in the Champions League, whose goal against Inter Milan for Barça in 2019 came when he was 17 years and 40 days old.

In LaLiga, though, he is running out of time. He has just one game left — away at Granada on Sunday — to beat the mark set by Fabrice Olinga, who was 16 years and 98 days old when he scored for Malaga a decade ago.

Yamal first joined Barça in 2013 from local Catalan club CF Torreta and has since progressed through the academy, racing through the age groups until reaching the first team this year.

Javi Gracia Named New Manager at Leeds United

Javi Gracia is ready to Leed

The 52-year-old Spanish football manager and former player has been appointed by Leeds United as the team’s new manager, according to the club.

Javi GraciaGracia, the former boss at Watford, replaces Jesse Marsch, who was fired on February 6 following seven games without a win in the Premier League.

“Leeds United are delighted to announce the club have agreed terms with Javi Gracia to become men’s first team head coach, subject to obtaining a work permit,” a club statement read.

The club confirmed that the Spaniard has agreed to sign a “flexible contract.”

Leeds, who have since failed to win in three subsequent games under the caretaker charge of Michael Skubala, are now 19th in the table ahead of Saturday’s game against Southampton.

Gracia has been out of work since leaving Al Sadd last year. He has also managed Malaga, Rubin Kazan and Valencia.

During his time at Watford, he led them to the 2019 FA Cup final, which they lost 6-0 to Manchester City.

Carlos Corberan was linked with the position at Leeds before signing a new deal at West Bromwich Albion. The club also had interest in Rayo Vallecano‘s Andoni Iraola and ex-Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder.

Zack de la Rocha & Rage Against the Machine to Perform at Inaugural Andalucia Big Festival 

Zack de la Rocha is bringing the rage to Spain… 

The 52-year-old Mexican American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and activist and his Rage Against the Machine band mates have joined the lineup of the inaugural Andalucia Big Festival in September.

Zack de la Rocha x Rage Against the MachineIt will marking de la Rocha and the band’s first show in the Spanish city of Malaga in 25 years.

The group will perform alongside Glass AnimalsMuse and Jamiroquai at the event that will take place in Malaga at Sacaba Beach on September 8, 9 and 10.

Among the other acts slated to appear at ABF are: Aurora, Gus Dapperton, Biffy Clyro, Years & Years, Stereophonics, Paolo Nutini, Michael Kiwanuka, Kevin Morby, Yard Act, Lucy Dacus, Run the Jewels, Kurt Vile & the Violators, Los Planetas and more.

Tickets for the festival from the organizers of the Mad Cool Festival will go on sale on Friday (April 29) here.

The Mad Cool team will double down on that September weekend by also hosting a one-day sister festival in Madrid on September 10, Mad Cool Sunset, which will feature another headlining set from Rage Against the Machine, as well as performances from Biffy Clyro, Glass Animals, Stereophonics, Run the Jewels, Kurt Vile and more.

The original Mad Cool festival will also be back in Madrid this summer from July 6-10 with a jam-packed lineup of huge stars, including headliners Metallica, Twenty One Pilots, Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Muse, Queens of the Stone Age, Kings of Leon, Florence & the Machine, Pixies and Jack White, as well as Chvrches, Carly Rae Jepsen, Glass Animals, Wolf Alice, Yungblud, Deftones, St. Vincent, Foals, Alt-J, The War on Drugs, Haim, Phoebe Bridgers, Royal Blood, Zara Larsson, Leon Bridges, Animal Collective, Black Pumas, Local Natives, Princess Nokia, The Struts and many more.

Romero Named Head Coach of Malaga CF

Marcelo Romero is ready to head the club…

The 40-year-old Uruguyan former soccer player has been named as new head coach of Spanish club Málaga CF.

Marcelo Romero

Romero, who played as a defensive midfielder for the La Liga team from 2001-2007, will succeed Juande Ramos.

Romero worked as assistant coach along with manager Javi Gracia in 2014-15 and 2015-16, and has been one of the staff members working under Ramos during the current season.

During his time as a player for Malaga, he won the Intertoto Cup in 2002.

He also led Malaga in a few matches last season when Gracia was suspended.

Messi Ends the Year with Record 91 Goals…

In what’s proved to be a banner year, Lionel Messi has extended his goal-scoring record…

The 25-year-old Argentine fútbol star and UNICEF Goodwill Ambasador, who broke German great Gerd Muller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year earlier this month, ended his record year this weekend with his 91st and final goal of 2012 in Fútbol Club Barcelona‘s 3-1 win at Valladolid, which the team dedicated to ailing coach Tito Vilanova.

Lionel Messi

Messi scored in the 59th minute by dribbling between a defender’s legs before making it 2-0 after Xavi Hernandez had opened the scoring two minutes before halftime.

Barcelona’s players wore T-shirts before the game with messages of support for Vilanova, who had throat surgery to remove a second tumor in two years on Thursday.

“This win is for Tito,” Barcelona defender Dani Alves said. “It’s a surprise and joy that he is home now. We are here to help him any way he can. Football is secondary now, he is fighting for his life.”

Barcelona remained perfect in nine away games and extended its record league start with its 16th win in 17 rounds. It opened up a nine-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid and a 16-point gap over Real Madrid after it lost to Malaga Saturday.