FC Barcelona News: 2 March 2012; Eric Abidal and Thiago Injured, Players Return to Training

Abidal and Thiago return injured | FC Barcelona
Abidal underwent further tests today which confirmed the Frenchman will be out of action for 10 days. Thiago, during the training session with the Spanish national team, felt pain in his right leg. Test confirmed that the player has niggling issues with his right tibia. The player’s recuperation will mark his availability for the upcoming matches.

First training session after international friendlies | FC Barcelona
After two days off, most of the players that were with their respective national sides trained today at the Ciutat Esportiva. In total, 14 first-team players, Valdés, Pinto, Keita, Pedro, Alves, Mascherano, Piqué, Puyol, Busquets, Cesc, Cuenca, Xavi, Iniesta and Adriano, trained together as a group. The Barça B players Tello and Muniesa were also present.

Agent: Xavi does not want to leave Barcelona - Goal.com
Barcelona midfielder Xavi is not interested in joining Paris Saint-Germain, according to the player's agent. "Xavi is under a contract with Barcelona until 2014 and he has no plans to leave the club," Ivan Corretja told RMC Sport.

Guardiola closes in on Barcelona contract renewal - report - Goal.com
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is close to signing a new contract with the club, El Periodico de Catalunya reports. The Spanish paper claims that Guardiola and his assistant, Tito Vilanova, met with Barca president Sandro Rosell and officials Andoni Zubizarreta and Josep Maria Bartomeu on Thursday to discuss a new deal over dinner.

Pedro confident Pep Guardiola will re-sign with Barcelona - ESPN Soccernet
Pedro remains optimistic that Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola will re-sign with the defending European champions. Guardiola, 41, has a current contract which expires at the end of this season, but has yet to commit his future to the Catalan club.

Nike features Guardiola in their latest advert | FC Barcelona
The manager Pep Guardiola is the main protagonist of Nike’s latest football advert. In the advert, the Barça manager watches a game in Barcelona between two youth sides. The video is part of ‘The Chance’ campaign, a Nike initiative focused on finding new talented young footballers.

Messi: "These goals are very special" | FC Barcelona
Lionel Messi left the Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf, a very happy man, and for good reason. The victory in Argentina's friendly against Switzerland, 3-1, will stay forever etched in his mind, as it was the first time he scored a hat-trick wearing his national shirt . But apart from his particular success, Messi was happy with the win, and especially for the cohesion of the team.

Barça unbeaten after international breaks | FC Barcelona
The internationals over, Barça are now able to concentrate on Saturday's meeting with Sporting Gijón. It is three and a half months since Barcelona last had to deal with an international week, but this was the fifth time they have had to this season, although they not been beaten under such circumstances.

Sporting cursed at the Camp Nou | FC Barcelona
Sporting Gijon, Barca's next opponents at the Camp Nou, have very negative dynamics away at Barça in the League. Of the 40 games they have played there, only once have they emerged victorious, and that was a long time ago, in the1986/87 season, when they won well (4-0). Since then, the balance between the Catalan and the Asturian sides at the Camp Nou is 14 wins for Barça, and just one draw.

64 points in 24 games for R. Madrid | LFP
Real Madrid is making history with their advantage over the second placed team. After 24 league games, the team of Jose Mourinho, has the most points in the history of the club. The manner in which Madrid has achieved this is also impressive. In fact, the 64 goals Madrid has now is 4 more than they scored last season- an incredible statistic. On the other hand, "Los blancos" have equalled their best ever winning record at this stage of the competition, which was achieved in 1960/1961 with 21 wins.

Debuchy claims Los Che interest | Sky Sports
Lille full-back Mathieu Debuchy claims Spanish giants Valencia have expressed an interest in acquiring his services. The 26-year-old is under contract with his current employers until 2015, but has seen a number of his colleagues head for pastures new in recent times.