Saturday’s Real Links: Marcelo from deep!
By Ben Sundock
La Liga Links
Barcelona great, Xavi, announces retirement
Former Barcelona and Spanish international Xavi has announced that this season will be his last playing football.
Currently playing in Qatar with Al Sadd SC, the 27-year-old is ready to hang up the cleats. The good news, however, is that he will not be completely leaving the game as he wishes to pursue a career in coaching.
Xavi won the 2010 World Cup with the Spanish national team, as well as the 2008 and 2012 Euros. Although he played for Barca, I have lots of respect for Xavi and wish him luck in his future coaching endeavors.
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Could Thiago return to La Liga?
26-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder, Thiago Alcantara, is leaving the door open to return to his former La Liga side, Barcelona.
The regular with the Bundesliga side left Catalonia in 2013 in favor of Munich and says he would not be against returning to his former club and his home country in the future.
“I will always look at it with affection. You never know if I will return because I am really happy at Bayern, but football changes a lot. Anything can happen.”
The football world is such an unpredictable place, it’s very possible.
Diego Costa working hard to maintain fitness while not playing
Don’t look now Madridistas, but Diego Costa is preparing to make his return to La Liga and to Atletico Madrid.
The striker is ineligible to play until January, but has been in Madrid for over a month training intensely with fitness coach, Profe Ortega.
Ortega has said that Costa is in the same form he was in three years ago when he was last with Atleti.
I’m so not excited to see this guy back on the field playing against Real.