After four years full of challenges and hard work, it's time to move on.
I leave with the feeling that the mission is complete. 4 seasons, 3 championships.
I will never forget the love I received from the fans from my very first days.
Catalonia is my place on earth.
Thank you to everyone I met along the way during these beautiful four years.
A special thank you to President Laporta for giving me the chance to live the most incredible chapter of my career.
Barça is back where it belongs.
Visca el Barça. Visca Catalunya 💙❤️
@fcbarcelona
🚨🎙️ Gareth Bale on Kylian Mbappe’s Interview with the press about his relationship with Arbeloa following Real Madrid’s win against Real Oviedo
“You don’t call out your coach in the mixed zone, full stop. Not when you’re Kylian Mbappé, not when you’re anyone. It shows a lack of discipline.
I had managers drop me, question my fitness, even my commitment with all the golf talk — and yeah, the Bernabéu whistled plenty. But I never went public ranking myself or saying I don’t watch the boss’s press conferences. That’s not leadership, that’s erosion. It tells the whole dressing room that if you’re big enough, the hierarchy is optional.
Arbeloa might be interim, but the role isn’t. When players treat the coach like that, it shows zero respect for the position itself. And it doesn’t matter who walks through the door next summer.
New manager, same cycle. If the next one doesn’t have the steel to demand total buy-in from day one, the stars will push back again, the leaks will start, the structure will crumble by Christmas, and we’ll be watching the same film on repeat. Real Madrid doesn’t need more talent — it needs players who police standards inside the walls and let their boots do the talking outside. Anything less, and the badge loses.”
🚨���️ Thierry Henry on why the rules in the UEFA Champions League seem inconsistent whenever FC Barcelona are involved:
“Listen… I’m sitting here watching these two pictures and I’m genuinely asking myself — are we watching the same sport or is there a secret rulebook that only gets pulled out when Barcelona are playing in the Champions League?
Look at the first one. [First picture] Involving Dembele and Davies where the ball hits his body, flicks up and brushes his arm. According to IFAB’s own handball law: if the ball hits another part of the body first and then the arm, it’s generally NOT a handball. Clear as day. But what happens? Penalty to PSG. Straight up given.
Now flip to the second picture. [Second picture] Gavi is literally hits the ball directly to the goal post in the box, an Atletico player is flying through the air, arms everywhere, ball hits the hand in the middle while’s trying to intercept the challenge… and silence. Nothing. Not even a look from the referee. Play on.
Same competition. Same competition stage. Same handball rules supposedly. But somehow the standard changes depending on who is wearing the Blaugrana.
Why is the rule suddenly flexible when Barcelona are involved? Why does the interpretation become stricter against us and mysteriously lenient when others do the exact same thing — or even worse?
I’ve been in this game a long time. I know referees are human. But this isn’t human error anymore. This is selective application. One team gets the “letter of the law”, the other team gets the “spirit of the game” nonsense that conveniently goes against them.
Fans are not stupid. We see it. Year after year in the Champions League, the rules feel random… until you notice the pattern. When it’s Barcelona, suddenly the IFAB guidelines grow legs and start doing gymnastics.
Keep the same standard for everybody or stop pretending there is one.
This is why people are angry. This is why trust in the game is dying.
If it was your club, you’d be fuming too.”