The 2025 La Liga fixtures came out last week and caused plenty of excitement as Hansi Flick’s Barcelona prepare to begin their title defence with a trip away to Real Mallorca.
Despite missing out on the Champions League, the Blaugrana had a hugely successful campaign, winning a domestic treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and SuperCopa, beating El Clasico rivals Real Madrid four times in the process; and that battle is set to continue again this season, with the La Liga 2025 betting odds currently giving Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid the slightest edge.
It promises to be another superb campaign and, here at SBOTOP, we’ll be there every step of the way. In the meantime, the two managers have five weeks to get their squads together. And, after pursuing a deal for Liverpool’s Colombian winger Luis Diaz for some weeks, it seems like Barcelona are turning their attention towards Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who looks set to leave Old Trafford this summer after a successful loan spell at Aston Villa last term.
On Thursday, the La Liga 2025 news coming out of Catalonia reported that Flick had given his approval for the club to move for the 27-year-old, who has been unsettled at Manchester United for the past couple of campaigns but showed he was still a quality player with Unai Emery’s Villans. Rashford is reported to be very keen to move to Barcelona and his club has valued him around £40m, but that may be a stretch too far for the Blaugrana who will try to negotiate the fee down, or maybe look for a loan option. I suspect the Red Devils would favour a clean break and some cash in and we may see some movement on this deal over the next week.
Liverpool winger Diaz has been too difficult for Barca to land with the player openly saying he is talking to other clubs, Bayern Munich are reported to be interested; and his price of almost double the £40m fee that Rashford is valued at, means that the Catalans are now ready to walk away.
Alonso taking a close look at his squad
Los Blancos had a decent Club World Cup, though, much like all other challengers to Paris Saint-Germain, they fell short when they met the rampant Parisiens, and now they are back in Spain and in pre-season training. Brazilian striker Rodrygo has been the subject of frenzied transfer speculation with Premier League giants Arsenal trying hard to land the £80m valued player, and Alonso has said he is willing to part with two other players, midfielder Dani Ceballos and forward Brahim Diaz.
The Gunners are facing competition from PSG for the signature of the 24-year-old Rodrygo who only played a total of 90 minutes at the Club World Cup, while Ceballos and Diaz were lightly used too. Ceballos had four substitute appearances with little time on the pitch and, at 28 years of age, the La Roja star will be keen to be playing as a regular starter now he is at the peak of his powers. He has a contract at the Santiago Bernabeu for another two years and now would be the time for Los Blancos to get full value for their man. And while Diaz had plenty of game time last season, again he played a lot from the bench and reports in Bavaria suggest Vincent Kompany considers him to be a perfect fit for his Bayern Munich.
Atleti likely to move on from Romero
Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero has been the subject of serious transfer speculation this summer, with Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid working hard to bring the player to Spain. It seems Los Rojiblancos have been priced out of the deal. they have been rumoured to be ready to splash out 55m Euros for the Argentine, but Tottenham are notoriously difficult to deal with and they price their man at between 70 and 80m Euros.
The UK press have suggested Romero is considering signing an extension with the North London club but on Friday, news from Spain reported that Real Madrid were pondering stepping in where their city rivals have stepped out. Los Blancos may be willing to pay Spurs’ asking price, particularly after Alonso watched his defence totally dismantled by PSG last week and, at 27 years of age and with 44 caps for Argentina, Romero fits the profile Real Madrid need.
The market is certainly heating up and Barcelona and the two Madrid giants are sure to be back in the news again next week.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
