FC Barcelona News: 13 April 2012; Happy Birthday Carles Puyol, David Villa Improving

Happy birthday, Carles! | FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona’s captain Carles Puyol was born 34 years ago today. The captain has a lot to celebrate as he completes another year with Barça’s first team. For Guardiola, Puyol is the centerpiece of the team’s defence, in the last 7 matches he’s figured in the starting line-up 6 times; of the last 30, he’s led the team 24 times.

Barcelona keen to open contract talks with Puyol - Goal.com
Barcelona are ready to open contract talks with veteran defender Carles Puyol as they are determined to hold on to the centre-back beyond the expiry date of his current deal, Sport reports. The 34-year-old has a contract with the Blaugranas until the summer of 2013, but Barca are desperate to keep Puyol at the club until the end of his playing career.at

Villa: "My leg is getting better and we are setting goals for my recovery" | FC Barcelona
David Villa was clearly happy at the progress he is making, claiming: "my leg is getting better and we are setting goals for my full recovery", even though he knows that patience and time are vital to get over his serious injury.

Maxwell sends his best wishes to Eric Abidal following liver transplant - Goal.com
Paris Saint-Germain defender Maxwell has sent a message of support to Eric Abidal after the Barcelona man underwent a liver transplant on Tuesday. "I called his doctors in Barcelona to find out the news. They told me that everything went well, but it was necessary to wait some more," he told RMC. "We are very close, and I will visit him in Barcelona very soon."

Iniesta closing in on 400 | FC Barcelona
Andrés Iniesta will pretty soon play his 400th official game for Barça - most probably away to Levante on Saturday or at Stamford Bridge next week – as he now stands at 399 appearances for the Club. What a way to mark 400 it would be if he did it the Chelsea ground – where he scored perhaps the most famous of his 40 goals for the team.

Palmeiras poised to sign Barcelona's Henrique, says agent - Goal.com
The 25-year-old stopper signed for Barca in 2008 in an €8 million deal but failed to impose himself at the Catalan club, spending one season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen and two at Racing Santander. He returned to Palmeiras on a season-long loan in 2011, and the Sao Paulo-based club are now on the brink of re-signing the player permanently for an undisclosed fee.

Villarreal beat Malaga at the death - Yahoo! Eurosport
Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla gave Malaga the lead after 65 minutes, firing in from the edge of the area against his former club, but the game was turned on its head in the 81st minute. Malaga keeper Carlos Kameni brought down Perez for a penalty and was sent off, and Marcos Senna converted from the spot. Paraguayan midfielder Perez volleyed the winner from outside the area in the 94th-minute to complete the turn around.

Negredo double buries Zaragoza - Yahoo! Eurosport
Alvaro Negredo struck a double as Sevilla eased to a 3-0 La Liga win over Real Zaragoza at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Negredo netted twice for the home side after Fazio had powered home Antonio Luna's corner from close range for the opening goal on 11 minutes.

Mallorca keep Racing rooted to the bottom - Yahoo! Eurosport
Racing Santander are now 10 points off safety in La Liga after being beaten 3-0 by Mallorca at their El Sardinero ground. Mid-table side Mallorca got off to the perfect start when Emilio Nsue fired a shot into the corner of the net in the very first minute. Mallorca then fired in two quick goals just after the break to wrap up the points.