All posts tagged: Joan

‘Leo didn’t come because the president didn’t want him’: Xavi says Lionel Messi’s Barcelona comeback in 2023 was scrapped by Joan Laporta | Football News

‘Leo didn’t come because the president didn’t want him’: Xavi says Lionel Messi’s Barcelona comeback in 2023 was scrapped by Joan Laporta | Football News

3 min readMar 9, 2026 08:22 PM IST Former Barcelona player and coach Xavi Hernandez said that Lionel Messi‘s return to Camp Nou was almost a done deal in 2023 but the club’s president Joan Laporta had blocked the Argentinian’s transfer fearing a power struggle with the superstar. Messi would ultimately end up joining his current club Inter Miami in 2023 after his Paris Saint Germain tenure ended. “The president is lying about what happened with Messi. Leo was signed. In January of 2023, after he had won the World Cup, I spoke to him and he told me he was excited to learn. We spoke until March and I told him: ‘Once you give me the OK, I will tell the president because it works perfectly on a football level,” Xavi said to Spanish outlet La Vanguardia as per ESPN. “The president negotiated the contract with Leo’s dad and we had the green light from La Liga financially, but it’s the president who pulled out. He told me that if Messi came back, he …

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick credits Joan Garcia for win against Espanyol: ‘We didn’t deserve it…’

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick credits Joan Garcia for win against Espanyol: ‘We didn’t deserve it…’

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick showered praise on goalkeeper Joan Garcia after the side’s 2-0 win over Espanyol. Filck, after the game, acknowledged that his side did not deserve the points if not for the shot stopper’s superb efforts on the night. “We didn’t deserve it, I will be honest. I have to say thank you to Joan García because he played unbelievably. He’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” Flick said (via @BarcaTimes on X). “He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and we had the players off the bench who showed the quality this team has.” Flick also credited Espanyol coach Manolo González for having given García the “confidence” to grow last season, when he caught the eye of many top clubs in Europe. “(García)He played fantastic and the clean sheet today was his responsibility.” Fermín López assisted two late goals for a 2-0 victory in a heated Catalan derby. Fermín assisted fellow substitutes Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski in the 86th and 90th minutes to tilt the match …

‘Barca is above every one of us’: Joan Laporta reacts to Lionel Messi’s comments about returning to Barcelona in future | Football News

‘Barca is above every one of us’: Joan Laporta reacts to Lionel Messi’s comments about returning to Barcelona in future | Football News

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said that the club was above everyone and called the possibility of Lionel Messi returning to play for the Catalan giants again “unrealistic”. The 63-year-old’s comments come after the Inter Miami forward visited Nou Camp on Sunday, with the club unaware of his visit. Messi left Barcelona in 2021 after his contract expired, with the club unable to renew his stay due to financial difficulties, ending his time with an emotionally-charged press conference to join Paris Saint-Germain before moving to the United States in 2023. “Barca is above every one of us. It did not happen as we would have liked to, but at that moment it went how it went. For me to make speculation that is unrealistic, nor do I think is fair, I believe that is not appropriate,” Laporta told Catalunya Ràdio. Story continues below this ad “I didn’t know he was coming, but Camp Nou is his home. They told me what happened. It was a nice gesture. He had just finished dinner and felt like …

Who was Joan Boocock Lee? Spider-Man creator and Marvel Jesus Stan Lee’s wife | Hollywood

Who was Joan Boocock Lee? Spider-Man creator and Marvel Jesus Stan Lee’s wife | Hollywood

Stan Lee: The Final Chapter documentary, directed by Jon Bolerjack, is knocking on the door with the single promise that it will do justice to famed Comic creator and Marvel mastermind Stan Lee. But do you know who even inspired Peter Parker’s first love? In ‘Stan Lee: The Final Chapter,’ Jon Bolerjack explores the life of comic icon Stan Lee and his devoted wife Joan Boocock Lee. (Reuters) Joan Boocock Lee wasn’t just the wife of Stan Lee, the legendary co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, and countless other Marvel heroes—she was his muse, his biggest supporter, and the love of his life. ALSO READ| Who was Steve Ditko? Spider-Man and Doctor Strange co-creator featured in coming Stan Lee: The Final Chapter documentary How Joan Boocock and Stan Lee met? In 1947, long before Marvel became the pop culture powerhouse it is today, a young Stan was introduced to a “gorgeous redhead” through a cousin. That woman was Joan Clayton Boocock, a hat model originally from England. When she answered the door, Stan took one …

The Shawshank Redemption Star William Sadler Mourns the Loss of His Wife Marni Joan Bakst After 45 Years of Marriage: ‘I Don’t Think I Can Fathom’

The Shawshank Redemption Star William Sadler Mourns the Loss of His Wife Marni Joan Bakst After 45 Years of Marriage: ‘I Don’t Think I Can Fathom’

William Sadler is mourning the loss of his wife of 45 years, Marni Joan Bakst. The Roswell actor, 74, announced Bakst’s death in a touching tribute on Facebook, alongside a throwback picture of them holding coffee mugs on their wedding morning on May 6, 1978. In the Thursday, December 19, tribute, Sadler wrote, “Early yesterday morning, my wife, Marni Bakst, finally lost her two-year battle with cancer. After what has been an amazing 45 years of marriage, I don’t think I can fathom or put into words much of this yet.” “Maybe with time and a little distance, I’ll find it easier to describe this extraordinary artist, feminist, wife, and mother, but for now, I want to thank you all for your patience and kind words. Yours, Bill,” the post read elsewhere. A brief version of the same announcement was also shared on X. The couple shared one daughter, Sadler Colley Bakst, throughout their decades-long marriage. Last year, to mark his and Bakst’s 45th wedding anniversary, Sadler posted the same picture of them from their wedding …

‘He Owes Her A Lot’: A Complete Unknown Director Explains Why Monica Barbaro’s Casting As Joan Baez Was Crucial

‘He Owes Her A Lot’: A Complete Unknown Director Explains Why Monica Barbaro’s Casting As Joan Baez Was Crucial

Everyone has been singing praises over Timothée Chalamet’s transformation into legendary musician Bob Dylan since the poster and trailer release of the highly-anticipated biopic A Complete Unknown. However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, writer-director James Mangold shed light on another formidable folk singer who played a pivotal role in Dylan’s rise to fame. It is none other than Dylan’s former romantic and professional partner Joan Baez played by Monica Barbaro. “Bob is the center of the movie, and all the other characters intersect, crisscross, and cross-pollinate,” Mangold told the outlet. “But what unites them all is their relationship to Bob,” he explained.  The director emphasized that each relationship in the late musician’s life had an impact on his career. Baez was the one person who helped accelerate his fame by inviting him onstage with her at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963 which became Dylan’s introduction to the world.  “She recognized what an incredible writer he was,” Mangold added.  He admitted that exploring their dynamic, strangled between their professional and personal commitments to each …

Super League Could Start Next Season: Barcelona President Joan Laporta

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said Friday that a European Super League project could begin as soon as next season, adding that he does not care if English clubs join or not. The Spanish giants, along with Real Madrid, launched a Super League project in 2021 which quickly collapsed after fan and institutional fury, with the other clubs pulling out. In December the European Union’s Court of Justice said world and European football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA had infringed competition law by blocking the breakaway league. Super League promoters A22 Sports Management swiftly announced plans for a new 64-team tournament to compete with or replace UEFA’s Champions League. “The Super League could start next season, or it will be in 2025-26, and if not, I will rethink everything,” Laporta told RAC1 radio station. Six Premier League clubs were part of the initial proposal but pulled out and have shown no intention of returning. “I don’t care if the English teams join,” added Laporta. “They already have their Super League — the Premier League.” …

Joan Baez documentary plumbs dark corners of her life, spotlights abuse by father

Joan Baez Documentary Plumbs Dark Corners Of Her Life (Photo Credit – Facebook) In “Joan Baez: I Am a Noise”, which premiered on Friday at the Berlin Film Festival, the folk icon with a supple soprano voice and a long history of activism, takes a disarmingly candid look on her life as she faces the end of her 60-year musical career, writes ‘Variety’. The immersive documentary is co-directed by Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky, and Maeve O’Boyle. They weave Baez’s 2018 ‘Fare Thee Well’ final concert tour with her early years, her rise to fame, struggles with dr*gs that ensued, and a darker psychological thread involving a form of child abuse on the part of Baez’s father, notes ‘Variety’. A surprising level of intimacy is reached, according to ‘Variety’, thanks to a wealth of material that the directors obtained from Baez’s meticulously preserved personal archives comprising home movies, diaries, artwork, therapy tapes, and audio recordings of voice letters to her family. Some, while Joan Baez was on tour in England in 1965 with Bob Dylan, who, …