Barca
UEFA supremo: Barcelona, Real Madrid & Juventus ‘paralysed themselves’ with ‘strange’ Super League approach
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have “paralysed themselves” with their “strange” approach to the Super League, according to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. A controversial proposal for a new competition to rival the Champions League was met with universal condemnation in April, leading to the withdrawal of nine of the original 12 founding clubs. The Super League plans were subsequently put on hold, but Barca, Real and Juve have vowed to continue pushing for change despite being threatened with serious sanctions by UEFA, who are in the process of investigating their involvement in the breakaway. The three remaining clubs released a statement criticising European football’s main governing body last week, which read: “FC Barcelona, Juventus FC and Real Madrid CF wish to express their a...
Report: Lionel Messi accepts new Barcelona deal
Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona. The official announcement will be treated as Barca’s big signing of the summer and the latest important media outlet to confirm the news is ‘BeIN Sports’. Journalist Achraf Ben Ayad, who follows Barca news very closely, says that Leo Messi has decided to stay. The Argentine missed the final game of the La Liga season and he did not train on Friday either with the club’s permission. The striker has taken holiday before going to Argentina to play in the Copa America. It seems like Leo Messi wants to decide on his future before the Copa America starts in June so the Argentinian’s new deal could be confirmed in the next two weeks. Leo Messi will have to accept a contract with a lowe salary than his current one due to Barca’s complicated financial situation....
Barcelona secure 500 million Euro loan
Barcelona have secured a €500m loan from Goldman Sachs, with €100m arriving immediately to cover unpaid wages. Like many of the clubs who had signed up to the Super League project, Barca are struggling financially in the wake of the COVID pandemic and in need of fresh funds. President Joan Laporta has seemingly found the key with a loan worth €500m from American investment bank Goldman Sachs. ESPN claim there will be €100m arriving immediately, so Barcelona can settle outstanding payments owed to players. The club’s gross debt is said to now be almost €1.2 billion. Sources told ESPN the situation with outstanding payments was so bad that the squad was preparing to take the matter to the Spanish Footballers’ Association. Barcelona agreed with the players to defer payment of their wages duri...
Barcelona supremo: European Super League a ‘necessity’
Barcelona president Joan Laporta described the European Super League as a “necessity” on Thursday but said the final decision would be given to the club’s members. Barca, Real Madrid and Juventus are the only clubs yet to withdraw officially from the breakaway competition, which lasted just 48 hours before the project imploded. Nine of the 12 clubs involved have pulled out. With total debts of more than a billion euros, Barcelona are struggling to keep up with Europe’s elite, making the prospect of a hugely lucrative new tournament particularly attractive. But Laporta said Barca’s members would have to approve the idea in a vote. “We understand it is a necessity but on the other hand, the members will have the last word,” Laporta told Catalunya Radio. “It is absolutely necessary the big cl...
Kylian Mbappe wants 700,000 euros a week
Kylian Mbappe has said he will only renew if big money is involved. He has yet to make a firm decision on his future, but he is clear that he wants a pay rise if he is to extend his contract. He wants 36 million euros a year, like Neymar. PSG are going to be involved in tough negotiations to keep hold of Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman is studying his options before deciding on his future, but he is clear what his transfer demands are if he is to form part of a new peoject. And his salary is the main issue. Mbappe wants to be seen as one of the best footballers in Europe and he wants that to be reflected in his salary. According to ‘The Athletic’, Man City have pulled out of the race to get the French striker after finding out about his transfer demands. Kylian, therefore, wants to earn sligh...
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Brazil legend Ronaldo ‘the best player in history’
Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has named Brazil legend Ronaldo as ‘the best player in history’. Ibrahimovic expressed his admiration towards the World Cup winner ahead of Milan’s Europa League clash with Red Star Belgrade on Thursday night, while putting him ahead of modern-day greats such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the all-time list of top players. The 39-year-old thinks Ronaldo Nazario, who inspired Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, transcended the game with his unique talents and still stands out as the unrivalled master of the footballing craft to this day. Zlatan told Discovery Plus: “I don’t need to describe Ronaldo, ‘The Phenomenon’. “I always say you have the players that play the game, and the players that are the game. For me, Ronaldo is the game. When you watch him...
Joan Laporta: PSG have been disrespectful in Leo Messi pursuit
Paris Saint-Germain have been “disrespectful” in their pursuit of Lionel Messi, according to Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta, who has threatened to report the Ligue 1 champions to FIFA. PSG have been strongly linked with Messi ever since his decision to hand in a transfer request at Camp Nou at the end of the 2019-20 campaign. The 33-year-old ultimately decided to see out the final year of his current contract with Barca after opposition from club officials and La Liga, but his long-term future remains up in the air. Parc des Princes has been mooted as the most likely next destination for Messi, and PSG sporting director Leonardo publicly sounded out the six-time Ballon d’Or winner earlier this month. “Great players like Messi will always be on PSG’s list,” said the Brazilian...
Cash-strapped Barcelona wants Sergio Aguero, David Alaba for free
Barcelona are hoping they can land Sergio Aguero and David Alaba on free transfers this summer after their contracts expire at Manchester City and Bayern Munich respectively. Aguero is expected to depart the Etihad Stadium after 10 years which have seen him become the club’s all-time top goal scorer with 256 goals and lift four Premier League titles in a glittering career. However, injuries have since caught up with the 32-year-old and he has now gone a full year without scoring a Premier League goal at the Etihad. According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca see the striker as the ideal No 9 replacement for Luis Suarez, who departed for Atletico Madrid in the summer, in providing a big name signing for supporters. Barca are in desperate financial struggles following the coronavirus outbreak, and t...
Wolves want Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City
Manchester City renewed Oleksander Zinchenko until 2024, but his future may not lie at the Etihad… or with a Barca team that took an interest in him months ago. According to the ‘Daily Star’, Wolves will bid for the Ukrainian player in January. Oleksander Zinchenko has always been under the magnifying glass at Manchester City. He was convincing at times as a winger and in the centre of the field. He aroused some interest from FC Barcelona in the summer. The Catalan media considered him the “favourite” for the left-back position, although the economy did not allow him to move. To this was added the fact that Zinchenko had renewed until 2024 with Manchester City. In the meantime, some are trying to take him away from City and from Barca in January. We are talking about Wolverhampton Wanderer...
Inter preparing offer for Junior Firpo
The name Junior Firpo continues to be on the Inter agenda. According to the newspaper ‘Sport’, the Italians will try again for the Barca player in January: they are studying a six month or year and a half loan with option to buy. Inter Milan haven’t forgotten about Junior Firpo, one of their big alternatives for down the left. The Italian outfit are still interested in the Barcelona player and are reportedly studying a six month or year and a half loan with option to buy. All of this while the 24-year-old LB continues to not be in Ronald Koeman’s plans, as the 192 minutes that he has played this season demonstrate, which increase the rumours about his possible exit. Junior is under contract at Barca until June 2024 and his market value is around 12.3 million euros. According to the newspap...
Quique Setien: Barcelona yet to inform me of sack
Former Barcelona coach Quique Setien claims the Catalans have not compensated him for his early dismissal, or even called to inform of his contract termination three months on. Setien replaced Ernesto Valverde in January signing on a contract until 2022 as the club hoped to reconnect with their philosophy of exciting, possession-based football. However, Setien’s time at Barça was marred with problems, from an apparently strained relationship with talisman Lionel Messi that reportedly spread to other members of the squad, to underwhelming results and performances on the pitch. The culmination of numerous issues at the club was the 8-2 humiliation by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final. The embarrassing result contributed to Messi’s desire to leave and effectively spelled the...
Lionel Messi’s father already in talks with PSG to negotiate in January – report
According to a report published by ESPN, Lionel Messi’s father and agent Jorge Messi is already in talks with PSG over a negotiation that can take place in January. Messi wanted to leave the club in the summer, but a move to Manchester City fell through after extensive legal proceedings regarding his contract and if he could leave the club for free. Now former President Josep Bartomeu blocked the transfer himself, saying that he could leave for no less than his €700 million – the release clause mentioned in the contract. The Argentine came out after that to speak about the saga, explaining his unhappiness, and how the only reason he did not leave was because he did not want to drag the club he loved into a legal battle. However, he can leave Barça in June, next year on a free transfer, and...
