Football YearEnder 2021 – Top10 Football Moment 2021: As the year 2021 comes to an end, we take a look back at the best, controversial & magical moments that took place in Spanish Football. From Lionel Messi’s chaotic and emotional Barcelona exit to Atletico’s final day LA LIGA triumph. Follow InsideSport.IN for all the latest updates of Spanish football.
Football has given us many memories to cherish some filled with joy, entertainment, heartbreaks but in the end, it’s all part of the sport. Let us take a look at the best moments from 2021 in the Football YearEnder.
10) Real Madrid come-on top against Atletico:
👌 Derby day went WELL.
💥 Rewatch the goals and the celebrations 👇— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) December 13, 2021
Marco Asensio scores off of Vinicius Jr.’s second assist of the game 😤 pic.twitter.com/Z4Jn2YnQGp
— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) December 12, 2021
9) The Mbappe transfer saga:
In the summer when Real Madrid offered 200 million euros to PSG for Kylian Mbappe, it seemed absolutely certain that the Frenchman would join the club of dreams Real Madrid, only for PSG to forcefully keep him at the club.
Real Madrid tried their best to sign Mbappe this summer as they believed a player of his caliber was worth the effort. However, PSG were never forced to sell because of their immense budget and ultimately decided to keep the player around and risk losing him for free in less than a year.
Real Madrid will now try to sign Kylian on a pre-contract, which he will be free to sign in January 1st, 2022, six months before his current deal with PSG expires.
Kylian Mbappé to @rmcsport: “I asked to leave [in July] because from the moment I didn’t want to extend, I wanted the club to receive a transfer fee to have a quality replacement. I wanted something respectful: I said, if you don’t want me to leave, I’ll stay”. 🔴🇫🇷 #Real #PSG pic.twitter.com/clHZx4CffF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 4, 2021
8) Fans back in the stands:
The final round of the 2020/21 season also produced an important moment, as Valencia vs Eibar and Villarreal vs Sevilla were the first LaLiga Santander matches with fans allowed back in the stands since the COVID-19 lockdown. A few stadiums across Spain were permitted by their local authorities to open the doors for the final two rounds of the season, before all venues were able to welcome back their supporters for the start of the 2021/22 season.
7) Vinícius’ incredible 90th minute winner against Sevilla:
One of the stories of the 2021 season has been the evolution of Brazilian prodigy Vinicius Junior with the Real Madrid winger improving with each week and adding goals to his dribbling game. He proved this in the top-of-the-table clash against Sevilla at the end of November, firing in a brilliant strike from distance in the 87th minute to earn Real Madrid a 2-1 win and a commanding lead at the top of the standings.
Vinicius goal vs Sevilla
pic.twitter.com/J4N7lOyLO6— Ehsan (@LosBlancoEhsan) November 28, 2021
6) Real Madrid continue their dominance in the Clasicos
Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the latest Clasico that took place in October. Goals in each half from David Alaba and Lucas Vazquez saw Real Madrid win 2-1 at Barcelona in El Clasico on Sunday, leading Barca fans to confront Ronald Koeman as he left the Nou Camp in his car after the game. Alaba – making his Clasico debut – opened the scoring after 32 minutes with a thumping long-range strike, before Vazquez doubled the visitors’ lead in second-half stoppage time.
WHAT A WAY FOR DAVID ALABA TO SCORE HIS FIRST REAL MADRID GOAL 💥
(🎥 via @ESPN)pic.twitter.com/Rrq14qxXun
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 24, 2021
Despite Sergio Aguero coming off the bench to score a late consolation for Barcelona on his Clasico debut too, Madrid hung on to hand Carlo Ancelotti his first managerial win at the Nou Camp. As a result, Real went second in the La Liga standings on goal difference from Sevilla and moved one point behind league leaders Real Sociedad after their 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile, Barca stay eighth.
5) Pedri wins the Golden Boy award: Pedri was unstoppable in the race to become the Golden Boy. The FC Barcelona midfielder won the prestigious award presented each year by Italian sports paper Tuttosport to the best footballer aged under 21. The prize will be awarded in a gala event to take place in Turin, Italy on 13 December. Pedri picked 318 points in the voting, 199 points more than second placed Jude Bellingham on 119, the biggest difference between the winner and runner-up in the award’s history. Barça claimed another award with Lieke Martens taking the prize for Golden Player of 2021.
Pedri is the 2021 Golden Boy, the first Barcelona player to win the award since Lionel Messi 👏👑 pic.twitter.com/TT8Fasi0ur
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 22, 2021
4) Xavi Returns to Barcelona:
After disappointing stints under the likes of Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman, Barcelona president Joan Laporta decided to go old school and appointed Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez to steer the Catalan’s ship. Xavi’s return to the camp nou has given Barcelona some breathing and the license to start a new project.
3) Sergio Ramos and Zinedine Zidane Leave Real Madrid:
One of the hardest moments for a Real Madrid fan came in the form of Sergio Ramos’ departure, the Real Madrid captain bid farewell to Los Blancos after 16 years of glorious service to the club. Signed in the summer of 2005, Ramos was the first Spanish signing of President Florentino Perez. Sergio Ramos, a true pillar of Real Madrid’s history when on to Captain the Merengues for several years after Iker Casillas’ departure.
Although Sergio himself said that he never wanted to leave the Spanish capital but had to find a new club after his contract expired in the summer.
Ramos was not the only Real Madrid legend who left Los Blancos in 2022, Zinedine Zidane also decided to leave the Merengues after falling out with the club’s management, although his leaving Real Madrid surprised nobody. After all, he’d done it before. Twice. As a player in 2006 and as manager in 2018, he walked away from the club, with no fuss and with no interest in negotiating a payoff. So when the news broke that Zidane had decided to leave again.
2) Atletico Madrid winning the 2020/21 League title:
At the end of May, football fans around the world tuned in to the final matchday of the 2020/21 season as Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid fought for the title. Atletico held a two-point advantage going into their final round trip to Real Valladolid, meaning they would need a victory if their city rivals won their home match against Villarreal. With Real Madrid duly winning, Atletico Madrid required three points and came from behind to earn them thanks to goals from Ángel Correa and Luis Suárez, claiming the club’s 11th Spanish championship.
1) Messi leaves Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain:
One of the most unexpected farewells that nobody expected to happen. Although, it wasn’t Messi’s decision to leave his boyhood club but because of the club’s financial instability he had to agree to move with a heavy heart. Lionel Messi had scored 672 goals in 778 appearances and won four Champions Leagues and 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona.
He then left to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a two-year deal, with an option for a third year. Messi was the best at Barcelona and he played with some of the legends of the club such as Xavi, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Puyol and others. Even though he wasn’t from the Academy he was treated as one of their own.
Messi was the top scorer of the club in 2021 with 28 goals despite leaving Barcelona months ago for PSG and no other player came close to the tally set by him. While Barcelona fans were left in tears, there were contrasting emotions in Paris as the Argentine superstar was given a hero’s welcome by PSG supporters who had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of their new signing.
