La Liga feature: A very special inheritance

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April 19 2024, 07:30 PM

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Ansu Fati has inherited Lionel Messi’s iconic No.10 jersey.

Bengaluru, September 7: From the transfer window deadline day to the international break to a very special inheritance, it was all happening out there in La Liga last week.

The Spanish clubs were particularly active as the summer transfer window closed this past week.

Barcelona brought in Dutch forward man Luuk de Jong on loan from Sevilla FC, while Real Madrid splashed out for 18-year-old Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, one of the most talented young players in Europe right now.

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The No.10 shirt at Barcelona is an iconic jersey, one that had been worn by Lionel Messi since 2008 - and Ronaldinho before him.

With Messi now gone, the search was on for a successor and 18-year-old Ansu Fati has been chosen to wear the No.10 when he returns from injury. That is a sign of just how much Barcelona believe in the rising star.

Busy transfer deadline day

Perhaps the biggest deadline day move was Antoine Griezmann's return to Atletico Madrid on loan from Barcelona. The Frenchman scored 131 goals in 257 games for Atleti, and coach Diego Simeone is well aware of what the 'little prince' is capable of.

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao also popped up in the Spanish capital, signing for newly-promoted Rayo Vallecano. He'll hope his return to Madrid is as productive as his first spell, when he scored an incredible 52 goals in 68 La Liga matches for Atleti.

La Liga clubs also made a number of very astute free agent signings. Levante signed World Cup winner Shkodran Mustafi, Elche brought in former PSG and Roma star Javier Pastore - in addition to Falcao's free agent signing at Rayo.

Bale on song

World Cup qualifiers were held over the weekend and several La Liga players have been away with their countries and scoring goals.

That includes Ángel Correa, who kept up his good form with a goal in Argentina's 3-1 victory at Venezuela; and Gareth Bale, whose hat-trick saw Wales win 3-2 in Belarus.

Depay dazzles

Despite losing Messi, Barceloa fans have a new forward to get excited about as Memphis Depay has hit the ground running following his switch from Lyon. After already rippling the net in pre-season, the Dutchman then scored two goals across Barcelona's first three matches of the new La Liga season.

The Dutch forward continued from where he left off in La Liga as he excelled in the World Cup qualifiers as well as he netted a brace in the Netherlands' 4-0 win over Montenegro.

Goals from Valencia's academy

Spain's international break has been mixed so far, as they lost to Sweden and defeated Georgia, but they have scored five goals and four of them were netted by Valencia academy graduates.

Carlos Soler scored in both games, his first with the senior national side, while Jose Gaya and Ferran Torres scored against Georgia after also coming through the Valencia academy. Real Madrid youth product - and current Sporting CP star - Pablo Sarabia, meanwhile, bagged the fifth of the week's five goals.