Spanish football evening headlines: Courtois makes Ronaldo claim, Barcelona’s £200m problem, Copa del Rey rule change | OneFootball

Here are your Spanish football evening headlines for June 25.

Courtois makes Ronaldo claim

Thibaut Courtois says he has ‘evolved more’ than Cristiano Ronaldo has in recent years.

Ronaldo’s stature as one of the world’s best players is undeniable, and while we didn’t need another reminder, the Portuguese superstar has already scored five at this summer’s Euro 2020, putting him at the top of the scoring list thus far.

But while everyone else is singing his praises, Courtois has made the interesting claim that he has ‘evolved more’ than the superstar as he prepares to take on Ronaldo in the Euro 2020 Round of 16 clash between Belgium and Portugal.

Speaking in a press conference, as covered by Mundo Deportivo, the Real Madrid goalkeeper said: “I think he has continued to be the same player from when I was at Atletico. I have evolved more.”

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Barca’s wage bill issue

Barcelona may be edgeing towards agreeing a new contract for Lionel Messi, but they must turn their attention to a big problem once that ink dries on the new deal.

Joan Laporta has made it his mission to agree a new deal with Messi following his re-election as president towards the end of last season.

That now looks as though it could become a reality with multiple reports, including one from Fabrizio Romano, claiming a new two-year deal is indeed close.

But while in a sporting sense it is a huge boost for Barca to keep their superstar, it leaves them with an uphill battle, financially speaking.

RAC1, via Marca, have reported that Barca must wipe a whopping £200million off their wage bill once the new Messi deal goes through.

Full story here

Copa del Rey rule change

The Royal Spanish Football Federation has decided to follow UEFA’s lead in scrapping away goals.

It was confirmed on Thursday that away goals would no longer apply to UEFA competitions, meaning all goals will be worth one across the Champions League and Europa League from next season, regardless of whether they scored home or away.

The announcement was met with mixed reviews with some believing the away goal was outdated, while others believe they added an extra aspect of drama to fixtures.

Nevertheless, away goals are no more, and the same applies to the Spanish Federation’s competitions, which includes the Copa del Rey.

Away goals only come into force in the Copa del Rey at the semi-final stage, with all games up to that point now single ties anyway.

This decision means that away goals will no longer apply to the semi-finals.