Inside Spain: Miley Cyrus, Mateu Lahoz and dehumanised footballers

Inside Spain is a weekly installment presented by Football España, providing insight into the top stories emerging from the rich and intense climates of La Liga and beyond.

Spanish football returned from its World Cup break last weekend and has been a roller coaster ever since. It started with bland and fun content, such as an image of American singer Miley Cyrus emerging, mimicking Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez’s infamous World Cup celebration.

However, it wasn’t long before controversial referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz got back into the swing of things and drew his cards again. After showing 16 cards during the Netherlands-Argentina World Cup quarterfinals, he returned with 15 yellows and 2 reds in the Barcelona derby, causing mass hysteria, especially as Barcelona drew 1-1. He will spend this weekend ‘in the fridge’ as they say in Spain, cooling off.

President Joan Laporta was strangely quiet on the matter, but revealed that Barcelona must find 26 million euros in the next six months to be able to do business as usual in the summer. Without him, they will be restricted by La Liga in terms of the players they can bring in.

Héctor Bellerín told Diari ARA that he was not too worried about what he was earning: “We believe that we need more than what we need.”

Meanwhile, Héctor Bellerín is going in the opposite direction. He confirmed that he earns less than 10,000 euros a week at Barcelona and claimed that footballers are becoming ‘dehumanised’ as a result of the bubble in which they live.

Vinicius Junior suffered racial abuse for the fifth time in Spanish football, but in more positive news, the man who stopped him was very impressive. Real Valladolid right-back Iván Fresneda, 18, is attracting attention from across Europe, particularly from Real Madrid and Newcastle United.

Barcelona topped third division side Intercity 4-3 after extra time in the Copa del Rey, while Real Madrid also felt awkward in their 1-0 win over Cacereño. Particularly Eden Hazard, who “didn’t seem to care, didn’t run, didn’t want the ball and didn’t ask for it.” And that is only according to the opposition players.

As Atlético Madrid prepare for their visit to Barcelona on Sunday – free to watch on ITV – it seems they have found their own gem as well. Exciting 19-year-old midfielder Pablo Barrios is one to watch, and Atleti are already in talks about a new contract for him.