By Tim Stannard/beIN SPORTS USA

Joan Laporta looks to turn back time at the Camp Nou and bring Pep Guardiola back as coach 

With LaLiga's clubs now beginning the new normal - face masks, no hugging, high-fives or drinking mate together - one very famous figure from Barcelona's past has broken into a lull in the news cycle to lay a claim on the club's future. 

Joan Laporta has announced that he is running to become Barcelona president for a second time when the next elections are due in the summer of 2021. "I’ve been president before and I’m excited to be back," chirped Laporta.

Laporta had previously been president of the club between 2003 and 2010 and is credited with being one of the driving forces of a remarkable period of success for the team, which included the appointment of Pep Guardiola and the rise and rise of Lionel Messi. 

Guardiola is the key part of Laporta's plans for Barcelona's future with the 57-year-old declaring that his aim would be to bring Guardiola back after the Spaniard left the club in 2012. The problem through is that Guardiola is currently head coach of Manchester City with Laporta admitting that returning to the Camp Nou "is a decision that Pep should take."

However, Manchester City potentially being barred from the Champions League for two years and Guardiola's tendency to get itchy feet in jobs after three or four years could work in Laporta's favor. 

Laporta will be challenging current Barcelona president, Josep Bartomeu, who has had a tumultuous spell to say the least of late with public rifts between his management and players as well as the recent mass resignation of six directors. 

All things Laporta and everything else in the world will be on the Sports Burst live show at 12PM ET / 9AM PT on our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page and beIN XTRA channel. 

Later on, the Sports Burst PM show will have a special guest with Robin Fraser, former USMNT player and current Colorado Rapids boss, joining the show. Tune in at 7PM ET / 4PM PT. 

Players doubt Premier League restart plans

There has been mixed news in England in regards to the restart of the Premier League. 

While the government formally gave approval on Monday for professional sports to potentially restart behind closed doors after the June 1 - should public health conditions allow it - the path for the clubs on how to get to that point is still not clear. 

Another club shareholders meeting took place on Monday and plans are afoot to restart the league mid-June with medical protocols for team training submitted to the government as well as an appeal not to play games in neutral grounds, which was an initial requirement. 

Although, EPL chief executive, Richard Masters, said that all 20 teams want to complete the season, discussions over ending the campaign early are "future conversations we may need to have".

The role of the footballers themselves will be key in any kind of restart with the COVID-19 outbreak still very much on the minds of some.

Raheem Sterling is a case in point with the Manchester City forward warning against restarting soccer too early saying that he had lost family members to the virus. "The moment we do go back it just needs to be a moment where it’s not just for footballing reasons, it’s safe for not just us footballers but the whole medical staff, referees".

This followed the forceful declaration from Newcastle United's Danny Rose who branded Project Restart as "b******s". 

Clue - it's a word that rhymes with rollicks and makes sense only to people who favor warm beer and bad food. 

Zlatan returns but no sign of Rabiot the rebel

Over in Italy and a sure sign of the Serie A restart took place on Monday evening. Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to Milan to begin a mandatory 14-day quarantine. 

Meanwhile, Juventus are still trying to coax Gonzalo Higuain and Adrien Rabiot back from Argentina and France, respectively. However, it might be tougher in Rabiot's case with La Stampa reporting that the player is reluctant to return and in a huff over Juve's reduction in player salaries during the coronavirus shutdown. 

Italy's minister of sport, Vincenzo Spadafora, has declared that Italy will follow very different health protocols to that being used in Spain and Germany. 

While in those countries, if a player or member of club staff fails a COVID-19 test, they are isolated individually for two weeks. If that happens in Italy when group activities return, says Spadafora, then the entire team will be put into lockdown for a fortnight. 

Bundesliga mulls five substitutes plan 

Just four days to go until the German Bundesliga returns and so far, so good with all the clubs currently in an isolating retreat ahead of Saturday's restart. 

The league is set to announce on Friday whether the five substitutes rule will be used in the remainder of the season to help reduce the strain on players who could be expected to be playing every three to four days. 

Meanwhile, another league in Europe announced a restart. The Austrian Bundesliga which includes Jesse Marsch's RB Salzburg is set to return on June 2. 

Vettel parts ways with Ferrari 

News from Formula 1 and four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari have announced that the driver will be leaving the team after the end of the current season.

Talks over a contract extension had broken down, although a parting of the ways seemed inevitable after a tempestuous last season which saw the breakthrough of French driver, Charles Leclerc, being pinned as the future of the Ferrari franchise. 

Vettel said that there was "no longer a common desire" for himself and Ferrari to continue the relationship.