Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena caused ripples last weekend in the mediasphere, not just for his hat-trick of assists against Rayo Vallecano, but for admitting afterwards that he would love to play for Barcelona. However Unai Emery is keen to pounce for a player he handed a debut to. Baena, 22, currently leads La Liga for […] The post Unai Emery greenlights Aston Villa signing of Barcelona target – available at bargain price appeared first on Football España.

On the 29th of May, Rayo Vallecano will celebrate the 100th anniversary of their formation. The next 12 months promise to be a celebration for the Madrid-based side, as they pay tribute to the  special event. As part of these celebrations, Rayo have announced that they will adopt a new badge for the 2024-25 season. […] The post Rayo Vallecano unveil striking new badge as part of centenary anniversary celebrations appeared first on Football España.

The former Arsenal midfielder has sought help from Uefa’s career transition expert, to navigate the world outside the dressing room Robert Pires will never forget what it was like coming to terms with being a retired footballer. “You don’t want to say stop because I had been playing for 19 seasons and football meant everything to me,” says one of the stars of Arsenal’s Invincibles, who was part of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. “Even now, football is my life and it’s in my blood, so that’s why when I said it was game over, it was very difficult to accept.” Luckily for Pires, help was at hand. He first met Stéphane Ehrhart – a former player who is now Uefa’s career transition expert – in 2009 while playing for Villarreal, when the decision to hang up his boots had barely even crossed his mind. Continue reading...

For the most part, it’s been a fairly underwhelming season for Villarreal, although recent results have seen them enter the European race. Last weekend’s 3-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano was an impressive one, and the star of the show was Alex Baena, who assisted all three goals for the Yellow Submarine. It takes Baena to […] The post Aston Villa preparing to make summer move for La Liga’s leading assist maker appeared first on Football España.

Rayo Vallecano probably wanted to get home swiftly from their 3-0 defeat to Villarreal on Sunday evening, but their journey home was delayed by another ‘rayo’. The word in Spanish means lightning or a bolt [of lightning], and as they prepared to head back to Madrid, their plane was struck by a bolt of lightning, […] The post Lightning strikes Rayo Vallecano journey home from Villarreal match appeared first on Football España.

Villarreal playmaker Alex Baena is in outstanding form all season for Villarreal, despite the fact it has been a difficult season for the Yellow Submarine. With things finally coming together under Marcelino Garcia Toral, Baean put on an exhibition against Rayo Vallecano, before making comments to the press that also hit the headlines. Baena notched […] The post Leading assist-maker in La Liga reveals desire to play for Barcelona but also hints deal won’t happen appeared first on Football España.