Turkey will have a runoff election on May 28 after longtime leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced into a second round with only a narrow lead over his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Neither candidate achieved the required 50% to take the presidency outright, after 100% of ballot boxes were opened, according to Turkey’s Supreme Election Council. All ballot boxes in the country were opened and the voter turnout rate is 88.92%, council chairman Ahmet Yener said.

But Kilicdaroglu now faces a tough battle to win the second round after Erdogan performed better than some opinion polls had suggested.

Official final results for Turkey’s election will be announced on Friday, the chairman of Turkey’s supreme election council Ahmet Yener said.

With the final count, the electorate will turn to a second round of voting that could extend Erdogan’s 20-year grip on power, or set the stage for a change in political direction.

Each candidate looked to re-energize voters once results began to surface in the early hours of Monday, in remarks that framed their contrastingly conservative and secular approaches to power.

Erdogan said he was “already ahead” of his “closest rival.”

“We are already ahead of our closest rival by 2.6 million votes. We expect this figure to increase with official results,” he commented.

He added that his camp does not know yet “if the presidential election is over in the first round,” but said, “We believe we will finish this round with over 50% of the votes.”

The leader of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party received a litany of criticism in the months preceding the election, fielding accusations of negligence following the deadly February 6 earthquake, and overseeing an unorthodox fiscal policy that has plunged the nation into a cost of living crisis.

His decision to maintain close relations with Russia amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine has also caused friction with NATO allies, after he blocked requests for Finland and Sweden’s accession to the transatlantic military alliance. He campaigned on a manifesto championing the stability of his long rule, independent foreign policy and lowering the retirement age.

Kilicdaroglu, who represents an election coalition of six opposition parties, has promised an overhaul of Erdogan’s Islamist-leaning policies in favor of a political slogan based on secularism and fixing Turkey’s economic woes.

Kilicdaroglu said in a video message on Twitter that he “will fight until the end.”

“I swear I will fight until the end. I. Am. Here,” he said in the video, which he released following the announcement that a runoff vote will be held on May 28.

Earlier he welcomed the prospect of a runoff vote and said his party would triumph.

Deciding factor

Supporters for both candidates claimed momentum was on the side of their candidate, but the final results of the runoff could be determined by a key third component.

Before Sunday’s election, Sinan Ogan was a fringe, ultranationalist politician virtually unknown outside Turkey. But now he could be a potential kingmaker for either leader.

The 55-year-old far-right candidate, who received 5.17% of Turkey’s first round of votes, has enough support from the first round to swing the vote in either Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu’s favor, depending on whom he chooses to endorse.

“There will be another difficult 15 days ahead,” Ogan said on Sunday at a press briefing in Ankara.

“We will do our best to make this process a good one for our nation and our country. At this time, we are not saying that we will support one party or the other.”

He told Reuters on Monday that if he signs an alliance with either wing, there will be no concessions on “sending refugees” to their homeland, as the country’s intake of asylum seekers from neighboring Syria has become central to the political debate in Turkey.

“We have certain red lines (to support any candidate), such as fighting against terrorism and sending refugees back. We have voiced these conditions before,” Ogan said in comments made before the runoff was announced.

“If we decide to be with an alliance, a protocol will be signed with them and we put in words that no concessions will be made regarding the (pro-Kurdish) Peoples’ Democratic Party.”

A hushed silence fell over the crowd outside the Istanbul headquarters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) party.

Sullen faces turned to the election count on the large screen — Erdogan’s vote had dropped below the 50% threshold needed to clinch the first round of Sunday’s historic election.

The celebratory chants, which switched seamlessly between party and religious slogans, came to an abrupt halt, as did the drumbeat.

“We are not used to this. We’re used to winning the first round,” said 38-year-old Erdogan supporter Umran Ozdwmie. It was 1 a.m. in Istanbul and the street that the party faithful had poured into earlier in the evening was beginning to empty.

Suddenly, it throbbed back to life. Erdogan was to deliver an address from his balcony in the capital Ankara. Word was beginning to spread: the ruling party was bruised but not yet out of the game.

“Our moods might change, but Erdogan’s rule won’t,” said 53-year-old Ismail Boyaci, 53. “We won’t ever leave him.”

Erdogan praised the election as a “feast of democracy.”

“Our country has completed another feast of democracy with the 14th of May elections,” said Erdogan. “Although the exact results are not clear yet, we are ahead.”

A six-party coalition had coalesced to end Erdogan’s 20-year rule, campaigning on a platform of change, restoring democratic institutions eroded by the strongman’s tenure and jumpstarting the flailing economy. Such a united opposition front is unprecedented in Turkey.

Most Turkish polls had predicted a knife-edge lead for the main opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu. In the end, the reverse happened. Erdogan secured a five-point lead over his principal opponent, destining them to a run-off vote.

The third candidate — the far-right politician Sinan Ogan — was left with a potentially decisive 5% of the vote.

The new kingmaker has conditioned his endorsement of either candidate on hardened policies towards refugees and some Kurdish groups he perceives as terrorists.

“What we’re thinking is all the political parties should exclude terror organizations,” he said. “We don’t have to give our support to either of the parties; there is no such rule.”

But analysts predict that Ogan’s ultranationalist followers will be more likely to vote for Erdogan in the next round. Erdogan’s ruling party has also emerged from Sunday’s election with the largest parliamentary bloc.

This leaves the opposition facing an uphill struggle to win the runoff. Kilicdaroglu struck a defiant tone on Monday. “I swear I will fight until the end. I. Am. Here,” he said in a video released on social media.

Among other things, the election results exposed the opposition’s limited ability to seize on the disgruntlement of a populace reeling from an economic crisis and, in the southeast, a devastating earthquake.

Erdogan supporters drew a sharp contrast. Times of crisis require a strongman to forge a path to recovery, they said. Erdogan endows a muscular stature on the country, and, importantly for many voters, he was religious.

Yet even as voters called for change, there are loyalties here that seem immutable.

“People make mistakes and you’ve got to love people despite their mistakes,” said Nuray Canpolat from outside her tent in Erdogan stronghold Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the quake.

“First, God saves us. Then our President Erdogan saves us.”

Ahead of the run-off vote, Erdogan now has two weeks in which to save himself – and all the indications are that he begins, as ever, from a place of strength.

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics put on a masterclass in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals to earn a 112-88 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The stakes don’t get much higher in sport than a Game 7 against one of your fiercest rivals, but with legacies on the line and a spot in the Eastern Conference finals up for grabs, Tatum stepped up and delivered a record-breaking performance.

The 25-year-old has become the figurehead of this talented Celtics group, and with 51 points – a Game 7 record – he has already cemented his place in Boston folklore.

In a deafening TD Garden, Tatum torched the Sixers from start to finish. The wing had 25 points in the first half and in the game defining third quarter put up a staggering 17 points.

Tatum’s 51, along with 13 rebounds and five assists, will live long in the memory of NBA fans as an all-time great Game 7 performance.

Not only did Tatum end the 76ers’ playoff hopes, but the four-time All-Star could have put an end to Philadelphia’s ‘The Process’ era following another disappointing second-round exit.

‘The Process’ was the name given to the 76ers’ rebuilding phase throughout the last decade and has now become centered around Joel Embiid, but once again Philadelphia has fallen short in the post-season.

Embiid, the regular season MVP, and James Harden failed to match Tatum’s display with both players seeming to crack under the pressure when it mattered most.

Embiid could only muster a measly 15 points – he averaged 33.1 in the regular season – and Harden did not even manage to get into double digits.

Despite their stars not firing, the Sixers remained in the game at half-time – only trailing 55-52 at the interval. Then the Celtics took complete control, Boston outscoring Philadelphia 33-10 in the third, killing the game off with their incredible three-point shooting display.

“It’s a movie. It’s a big movie,” said point guard Marcus Smart of Tatum’s performance. “Being able to just sit back, eat your popcorn and watch. Sometimes we do get in that mode where we forget that we’re on the court playing with him.”

Jaylen Brown also enjoyed his teammate’s performance adding, “JT just got it going and get out of that man’s way. He got it rolling, and there’s nothing they could do to stop him.”

The Celtics will now face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, a repeat of last year’s and 2020’s matchup. The series begins in Boston on Wednesday with both teams looking to get off to a flying start.

Doyle Brunson, dubbed ‘The Godfather of Poker,’ has died at the age of 89, according to a family statement shared by his agent Brian Balsbaugh on Twitter.

“It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of our father, Doyle Brunson,” the statement read.

“He was a beloved Christian man, husband, father and grandfather. We’ll have more to say over the coming days as we honor his legacy.

“Please keep Doyle and our family in your prayers. May he rest in peace.”

The World Poker Tour said Brunson, one of the most recognizable faces in poker history, died on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Brunson won 10 World Series of Poker tournaments during a legendary career before retiring in 2018.

Rarely seen without his cowboy hat, Brunson was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1988 and later become an ambassador of the game.

“His impact on poker will be felt for generations to come,” the World Poker Tour tweeted.

As well as being one of the world’s most prominent poker players, Brunson also wrote the famous book ‘Super/System,” which is still used today by players learning game strategy.

“Legend. There will never be another Doyle Brunson,” Daniel Negreanu, one of the world’s best poker players, wrote on Twitter.

Underneath the family statement, Brunson’s agent posted a photo of an anonymous quote which he says the poker great embraced.

It read: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming: Wow, what a ride!”

Australian golfer Jason Day claimed his first PGA Tour victory for more than five years at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas, paying tribute to his late mother after the win.

A former world No. 1, Day has endured a challenging period in his career since he was last in the winner’s circle. Amid his struggle for form, he has battled a back injury and bouts of vertigo, even to the point where he considered walking away from golf.

His victory on Sunday was all the more poignant as it fell on Mother’s Day; to honor the occasion, Day chose to have the birth name of his mother, who died from cancer last year, on the back of his caddy’s bib.

“I was in tears for a little bit there, to think about what my mom went through from 2017 on to her passing last year,” the 35-year-old told reporters after the victory.

“It was very emotional to go through and to experience what she was going through, then I had injuries on top of all of that going on in my life. To be honest, I was very close to calling it quits. I never told my wife that, but I was okay with it, just because it was a very stressful part of my life.”

On Sunday, Day carded a bogey-free, nine-under par in his final round to finish on 23-under, one shot ahead of South Korea’s Kim Si-woo and American Austin Eckroat. It was his 13th victory on the PGA Tour, earning him $1.71 million.

“It feels strange to be sitting here, I don’t know how else to explain it,” said Day.

“To go through what I went through and then to be able to be a winner again and be in the winner’s circle is very pleasing, and I know that there’s been a lot of very hard work behind the scenes that a lot of people haven’t seen.”

Starting the tournament with a seven-under 64, Day shot 69 and 66 in the next two rounds before climbing up the leaderboard with a strong showing on Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney.

That included three straight birdies on the front nine and a brilliant chip from the edge of the green on the 12th to move into the lead, which he shared briefly with world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler, Kim, Eckroat, and Taiwan’s C.T. Pan all kept the pressure on Day as rain started to fall in the closing stages, but a birdie at the 18th, where his wife and four kids were watching on, proved enough to wrap up his second AT&T Byron Nelson victory.

“For some reason, I just thought that I was going to win the tournament,” said Day, who claimed his first Tour win in the same event 13 years ago. “It’s easy to say that now because I won it, but for some reason, I just had this sort of calmness about it.”

Day admitted that his thought process for the last couple of years had been to fulfill the minimum requirements of his contract on Tour, such was the extent of the challenges he was facing on and off the golf course.

“It’s not a healthy way of playing golf in general, not a healthy way of just living in general,” he said.

But the Australian has now returned to the top 20 of the world rankings once more, recapturing some of the form that saw him claim his first and only major triumph at the PGA Championship in 2015.

And with the second major of the year getting underway on Thursday at this year’s edition of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, New York, the victory seems timely.

“There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done with the swing, to the point where I want to take it,” Day said.

“I know that the game is good enough to win, but it would be nice to be able to build a game to have it be more of a dominant game to be able to win multiple times a year, not just once.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said “the first important steps” of a highly-anticipated military counteroffensive against Russian forces “would be taken soon” as he met with European partners providing his country with weapons.

Speaking to reporters in Rome after meetings with his Italian counterpart and Italy’s prime minister, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were “preparing very seriously.”

“There will definitely be very serious steps. I cannot tell you (when)… but you will definitely see it and Russia will definitely feel it,” he said. “We believe in victory and believe that the first important steps will be taken soon.”

Shaping involves striking targets such as weapons depots, command centers and armor and artillery systems to prepare the battlefield for advancing forces. It’s a standard tactic made prior to major combined operations.

Describing a “long and fruitful” meeting with Zelensky Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged unwavering support for Ukraine, adding that Rome would back any future bid by Kyiv to join NATO.

“We are ready to support a further intensification of Ukraine’s partnership with NATO, we will discuss it in Vilnius at the July summit, it will probably be the central theme” Meloni said.

Earlier, Zelensky met with Pope Francis, who has been outspoken in his support for an end to the war in Ukraine.

In their meeting at the Vatican Saturday, Zelensky and Francis spoke about the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine caused by the war and the Pope assured his “constant prayer,” according to a statement from the Vatican’s press office.

“Both agreed on the need to continue humanitarian efforts to support the population,” the statement said.

Zelensky said last week that his country still needs “a bit more time” before it launches the counteroffensive, in order to allow some more of the promised Western military aid to arrive in country.

Among those Western backers is Germany, where Zelensky arrived on Sunday in his first visit to the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last February.

“Already in Berlin. Weapons. Powerful package. Air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

Germany’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that it would supply Ukraine with nearly $3 billion more in military aid, including 30 tanks.

It comes after a major policy U-turn earlier this year which saw Berlin announce it would provide Kyiv with Leopard 2 battle tanks. Germany had initially resisted calls to provide weaponry to Ukraine in line with Berlin’s decades-long policy of not supplying lethal weapons to crisis zones.

Russian attacks

As Zelensky toured Europe, Russia’s assault on Ukraine continued.

Two people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed and 10 others wounded Saturday as a result of Russian shelling in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian officials said on Telegram.

In western Ukraine, at least 21 people were injured following Russian strikes on the city of Khmelnytskyi in the early hours of Saturday, Ukrainian authorities said.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Saturday that 17 out of 21 Russian drones had been intercepted overnight by its air defense system but they were unable to prevent strikes on infrastructure facilities in Khmelnytskyi.

In nearby Ternopil, two people were injured after Russian missiles struck warehouses and a religious organization, local authorities said on Telegram.

The attack came as Ternopil-based electronic duo Tvorchi performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, England. The Ukrainian representatives finished sixth.

Meanwhile, a Russia-backed official in Luhansk said two people were hospitalized after a second missile attack in 24 hours on the the occupied eastern region.

In a Telegram post, Darya Lantratova, an official with the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic, said the apparent Ukrainian attack was carried out with Storm Shadow cruise missiles

“There were casualties, including civilians. Preliminarily, two people are hospitalized. The military reports that Storm Shadow cruise missiles carried out the strikes,” she said.

Ukraine has not made any official comment on the use of Storm Shadow missiles since Britain announced it had supplied Kyiv with the weapons earlier this week.

Love them or loathe them, the royal family are up there with red telephone boxes and scones when it comes to images of Britishness. Souvenir shops are full of their faces, newspapers across the world discuss them, and television dramas based on their lives have never been more popular.

Whenever people are critical of the royal family, the oft-repeated retort is “but think of the tourism!” This has been particularly common rhetoric recently, as many people question how a country facing mass strikes and a crippling cost of living crisis can afford the estimated £100 million ($125 million) cost of King Charles III’s coronation.

In a recent YouGov poll, 51% did not believe the coronation should be paid for by taxpayers. For young people, this figure was even higher, at 62%. But supporters will often use tourism as justification for lavish expenses.

The royal family does bring tourism to the UK. The economic consultancy Centre for Economics and Business Research estimated that the coronation weekend would lead to a £337 million ($422 million) boost from tourism and pub spending.

But if the royal family were to disappear, would the UK’s tourism industry suddenly implode?

2011 research by Visit Britain found that around 60% of tourists to the UK are likely to visit places associated with the royal family. While there is no more recent specifically royal data, in 2022 Visit Britain found that history and heritage was the biggest pull factor to tourists.

And while the international perception of Britain is certainly intertwined with the royal family, this does not tell us whether a reigning royal family is necessary for tourism. After all, the history surrounding the monarchy and places associated with them would still be here even if the royal family was not. Ottoman palaces of Istanbul remain wildly popular attractions 100 years since the collapse of the caliphate, as are the royal châteaus of France or imperial palaces of China.

Lack of royalty does not seem to have affected these countries’ appeal, each of which attract more tourists annually than the UK.

A special relationship

The USA is the UK’s largest tourist market, and American tourists do seem to be very fond of things associated with British royalty.

But this may change with the new monarch. In a poll taken in February 2021, before the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a whopping 68% of Americans viewed her favorably. The same poll found only 34% had a favorable opinion of Charles – but this has changed in his favor following his accession to the throne, according to a poll taken before the coronation which gave him a 50% approval rating in the US. That said, 62% of people in the US said they did not care about the coronation very much or at all.

Outside America, the UK’s next largest tourist groups have significantly less interest in the royal family. The holiday firm Travelzoo found in 2016 that just 19% of German, 15% of French and only 10% of Spanish travelers want to come to the UK because of the British monarchy.

Where do tourists go?

Typically, when commentators discuss the royal contributions to tourism, they talk about significant events such as weddings, jubilees, coronations and funerals. Even though these events attract huge crowds, they happen rarely and are unrepresentative of the tourism industry as a whole. Research has found that royal weddings massively improve a country’s image and brand awareness, but are not comparable to major mega events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Super Bowl or the Olympics.

Even though royal places are popular, they are far from the UK’s most popular attractions. Of Britain’s 10 most visited free and paid-for attractions in 2021, none were royal attractions. The highest ranking royal attraction was the Tower of London, making only 17th on the list.

Typically, Chester Zoo attracts more visitors than Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace, although these statistics do not differentiate between domestic and international tourists. In the most recent Windsor visitor survey, the majority of its tourists came from overseas.

Anti-monarchy group Republic has disputed the widely cited figure that the monarchy generates £500 million in tourism income for the UK annually – which itself would be only a small fraction of Britain’s £127 billion tourism economy.

The group also questions why royalty barely features on British tourism campaigns or advertisements, if it’s so vital to the tourism economy.

It is impossible to deny that royalty adds to the UK’s appeal as a tourist destination – the history and associated heritage is famous worldwide. However, what is questionable is whether a reigning monarchy is necessary for this attractiveness to continue.

Turkey will have a runoff election on May 28 after longtime leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced into a second round with only a narrow lead over his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Neither candidate achieved the required 50% to take the presidency outright, after 100% of ballot boxes were opened, according to Turkey’s Supreme Election Council. All ballot boxes in the country were opened and the voter turnout rate is 88.92%, council chairman Ahmet Yener said.

But Kilicdaroglu now faces a tough battle to win the second round after Erdogan performed better than some opinion polls had suggested.

Official final results for Turkey’s election will be announced on Friday, the chairman of Turkey’s supreme election council Ahmet Yener said.

With the final count, the electorate will turn to a second round of voting that could extend Erdogan’s 20-year grip on power, or set the stage for a change in political direction.

Each candidate looked to re-energize voters once results began to surface in the early hours of Monday, in remarks that framed their contrastingly conservative and secular approaches to power.

Erdogan said he was “already ahead” of his “closest rival.”

“We are already ahead of our closest rival by 2.6 million votes. We expect this figure to increase with official results,” he commented.

He added that his camp does not know yet “if the presidential election is over in the first round,” but said, “We believe we will finish this round with over 50% of the votes.”

The leader of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party received a litany of criticism in the months preceding the election, fielding accusations of negligence following the deadly February 6 earthquake, and overseeing an unorthodox fiscal policy that has plunged the nation into a cost of living crisis.

His decision to maintain close relations with Russia amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine has also caused friction with NATO allies, after he blocked requests for Finland and Sweden’s accession to the transatlantic military alliance. He campaigned on a manifesto championing the stability of his long rule, independent foreign policy and lowering the retirement age.

Kilicdaroglu, who represents an election coalition of six opposition parties, has promised an overhaul of Erdogan’s Islamist-leaning policies in favor of a political slogan based on secularism and fixing Turkey’s economic woes.

Kilicdaroglu said in a video message on Twitter that he “will fight until the end.”

“I swear I will fight until the end. I. Am. Here,” he said in the video, which he released following the announcement that a runoff vote will be held on May 28.

Earlier he welcomed the prospect of a runoff vote and said his party would triumph.

Deciding factor

Supporters for both candidates claimed momentum was on the side of their candidate, but the final results of the runoff could be determined by a key third component.

Ogan, the 55-year-old far-right candidate, has enough support from the first round to swing the vote in either Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu’s favor, depending on whom he chooses to endorse.

“There will be another difficult 15 days ahead,” Ogan said on Sunday at a press briefing in Ankara.

“We will do our best to make this process a good one for our nation and our country. At this time, we are not saying that we will support one party or the other.”

He told Reuters on Monday that if he signs an alliance with either wing, there will be no concessions on “sending refugees” to their homeland, as the country’s intake of asylum seekers from neighboring Syria has become central to the political debate in Turkey.

“We have certain red lines (to support any candidate), such as fighting against terrorism and sending refugees back. We have voiced these conditions before,” Ogan said in comments made before the runoff was announced.

“If we decide to be with an alliance, a protocol will be signed with them and we put in words that no concessions will be made regarding the (pro-Kurdish) Peoples’ Democratic Party.”

Ogan claimed the opposition has not gained the threshold votes due to lack of confidence from voters.

“I think (the elections head to runoff) because the opposition is not giving enough confidence to the voters. The opposition cannot reassure people that they can solve Turkey’s problems. I’d say the opposition is the one that was most affected by the (February 6) earthquakes,” he added.

French soccer team Toulouse did not select several players for its Ligue 1 game against Nantes on Sunday after they refused to participate in a league wide anti-homophobia campaign.

“Some players of the professional squad have expressed their disagreement regarding the association of their image with the rainbow colors representing the LGBT movement,” Toulouse FC said in a statement Sunday.

“Although respecting the individual choices of its players, and after numerous exchanges, the Toulouse Football Club has chosen to exclude these players from the game,” the Ligue 1 club added.

French teams playing in the country’s top two divisions were asked to don rainbow-colored numbers and hold banners as a way of raising attention for this coming Wednesday’s International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

Toulouse FC did not name the players they had excluded but Moroccan international Zakaria Aboukhlal confirmed on social media that he “made the decision not to take part in today’s [Sunday’s] game.”

“First and foremost, I want to emphasise that I hold the highest regard for every individual regardless of their personal preferences, gender, religion or background. This is a principle that cannot be emphasised enough,” Aboukhlal said.

“Respect is a value that I hold in great esteem. It extends to others, but it also encompasses respect for my own personal beliefs. Hence, I don’t believe I am the most suitable person to participate in this campaign.”

Egyptian international Mostafa Mohamed also posted on social media Sunday explaining his reasons for not participating in the campaign and playing against Nantes.

“I don’t want to argue at all but I have to state my position,” Mohamed tweeted.

“I respect all differences. I respect all beliefs and convictions. This respect extends to others but also includes respect for my personal beliefs.

“Given my roots, my culture, the importance of my convictions and beliefs, it was not possible for me to participate in this campaign. I hope that my decision will be respected, as well as my wish not to argue about this and that everyone is treated with respect.”

Toulouse drew 0-0 with Nantes Sunday and currently sits 13th in the league.

Barcelona’s ascent back to the top of Spanish football has been faster than anyone – even the most optimistic of ‘Culés’ – could have imagined.

With a 4-2 away victory at city rival Espanyol on Sunday, Barcelona secured the team’s first La Liga title in four years after a turbulent period for the club both on and off the pitch.

Such has been the Blaugrana’s dominance this season, Xavi’s side clinched the trophy with four games still remaining and his iteration will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest defensive teams in La Liga history.

The record for the fewest number of goals conceded by a team in a single 38-game season is 18, held jointly by Deportivo La Coruña (1993-94) and Atlético Madrid (2015-16).

With only 13 goals conceded so far this season, Xavi’s Barcelona is set to obliterate that record.

After the pain of Lionel Messi’s departure, financial turmoil and now the looming ‘Caso Negreira’ scandal, this title will no doubt taste all the sweeter.

“We know that we’re going to do it and then we can, I hope, celebrate with the fans because it will be something amazing, something huge. It’s been a few years since Barcelona has won this title, so we’ve done well.

“We won so many games that were very tough. I think the first round [of fixtures] was very important, we proved that we can think about winning La Liga.

“We know that it’s a process, we do things step-by-step and this kind of title can help us and the team a lot.”

But just how has Barça gone from European laughing stock to the king of Spain?

Xavi’s revolution

‘Defensive’ isn’t necessarily a word fans would associate with Barcelona, with much of the club’s recent history defined by attacking play based on intricate passing patterns – and whatever magic Messi could conjure up.

However, solidity in the backline has provided the bedrock for Xavi’s success since his return to the club in November 2021.

Success of any kind looked a long way off at the time, as Pep Guardiola’s protégé inherited an aging squad with no identity that had fallen well behind Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid the previous season, while also later dropping into the Europa League for the first time since 2003-04.

The pressure was certainly on, too, as fans had been clamoring for Xavi’s return long before he arrived in the dugout and there was a sense that he had been anointed as the club’s savior.

“Instead, he has chosen a more defensive approach to secure a solid defense and controlling the games from the midfield.

“I think that Xavi has, let’s put it this way, betrayed that traditional DNA of FC Barcelona because he knew that this team was not prepared to play like Manchester City because their young talents were still too young.”

With that inexperience added to Barcelona’s lack of physicality in midfield, which the club only partially addressed with its signings, Lewandowski’s goals drying up in the second half of the campaign and Ansu Fati’s lack of development, Macià says Xavi’s ability to fall back on the team’s defensive prowess has been crucial.

“So there’s been a problem there, but luckily Barcelona was solid in defense, which is something that we haven’t seen,” he says. “So credit to Xavi because he has got results in a club where results go at the same level with beauty and nice football.

“But even if there’s been a lot of criticism about the sadness of Xavi’s football sometimes – not always, but sometimes – results are there and fair play to Xavi because he’s done it in a very difficult environment.”

Xavi also had the added challenge of reshaping a team and squad that had so far failed to adapt to life without Messi.

Before his shock move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 – caused solely by Barcelona’s dire financial state – Messi had been the glue holding the Catalan club together.

Even while he was there, Messi’s consistently brilliant match-winning performances were only enough to paper over the cracks of a team that had been slowly crumbling for some time.

Xavi’s remodeling hasn’t been cheap, however, with Raphinha, Jules Koundé and Lewandowski each being signed for more than $50 million. Those transfers necessitated some complex financial juggling.

But on the pitch, Xavi has got his new-look team clicking and there has perhaps been no better coach to oversee the emergence of young stars Gavi and Pedri in midfield, two players who have been heralded by some fans as the second coming of Xavi and his former midfield partner Andres Iniesta.

Indeed, Xavi has already admitted that he believes Barcelona’s current midfield duo are better than he and Iniesta were at the same age.

In recent years, Barcelona’s financial problems have been exacerbated by the club’s decision to move away from promoting talent from its famed La Masia academy and instead opting to pay for big-money signings, with the club spending well over $1 billion on transfer fees since the 2013-14 season.

And while Macià believes Real Madrid’s surprisingly poor domestic season opened the door for Barcelona’s title challenge, the reintroduction of young talent from La Masia has been the “key” to Barça’s success.

“Pedri and Gabi are the cornerstone of the current project,” he explains. “This is why Barcelona keeps a certain level that allows them to compete against Madrid and the rest of the teams with regularity.

“Also some of the players that have been important in recent years, even if they were older like Sergio Busquets, have helped and then some of the top players from the previous time, Frenkie de Jong being one of these, and Lewandowski, who has helped Barcelona score goals in the first part of this season.

“I think that the convergence of these elements, but the fact that Barcelona has had young talent to resist these difficult times has also been an important factor for Barcelona winning the domestic league.”

Finances and the ‘Caso Negreira’

Off the pitch, Barcelona’s coffers are certainly healthier than they were three years ago.

Huge deals with audio streaming service Spotify and global investment firm Sixth Street, among others, have helped the club claw its way back from the total financial disarray it found itself in following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Back in September, Barcelona said it had recorded a profit of $98 million for the 2021-22 financial year and predicted profits of $298 million for this current season.

The club also recently announced the renegotiation of the $1.6 billion financial plan to repay the debt taken on to finance the renovation of its dilapidated Camp Nou stadium, meaning Barcelona will now pay off the debt five years earlier than originally planned.

The club’s ability to once again pay big fees and big contracts to players, coupled with Messi’s impending departure from Paris Saint-Germain, have fans dreaming that the greatest player in the club’s history could return to Barcelona to finish his career.

But Macià believes the Argentine’s return could come at a cost.

“If Messi comes, there will be no room for many more signings,” he says. “If Messi doesn’t go, Barcelona will not be compelled to, for example, sell important players like De Jong or other players that can give Barcelona enough money, like Ansu Fati.

“So if Messi goes to Saudi Arabia it will be, I believe, easier. Although, of course, from a romantic perspective it would be perfect that Messi finishes his career in Barcelona and everybody will love it – and [club president] Joan Laporta is trying to do so.

“If Messi comes, yes, he will generate new incomes for the club, but it won’t be easy to rebuild a new structure. Of course, you will have to sell talent and you’ll have to trust young, young players.

“There are some players that are 15 or 16 that have already made their debut with Barcelona. They have shown good signs of quality, but I think it will depend on Messi.”

Despite the on-field success this season, Barcelona has been grappling with the ‘Caso Negreira’ scandal in the second half of the campaign.

UEFA, European football’s governing body, said in March that it had opened an investigation into alleged improper payments made by Barcelona to José María Enríquez Negreira, a former leading refereeing official in Spain.

The Catalan club was charged by the Barcelona provincial prosecutor’s office with “continued corruption between individuals in the sports field,” in addition to other charges in relation to an alleged payment scandal which has rocked Spanish football.

While the ongoing case clearly hasn’t been a distraction on the pitch, Macià says the outcome of UEFA’s investigation could be crucial to Barcelona’s progress going into next season.

“It will depend on UEFA’s decision to allow Barcelona to play in European competitions or not,” he says.

“It’s a lot of [prize] money and some players will want to come to Barcelona because they play European competitions. If they don’t [ban Barcelona], then yes, I see a big change coming.”

After so many problems, both on and off the pitch, Macià says this title feels particularly sweet.

“Yes, it feels like heaven.”