Camp Nou
Report: Klopp is in love with one player, FSG prepared to pay £88m to bring him to Liverpool
Liverpool are allegedly prepared to smash their transfer record in order to sign Barcelona midfielder Pedri according to a report from OD. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp failed to bolster his central midfield ranks at Anfield in the summer after losing Gini Wijnaldum to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. It seems as though the German has identified a player who he believes will improve Liverpool immeasurably. Pedri is allegedly on Liverpool’s radar Liverpool eyeing massive bid for Pedri OD reckon that Klopp is in love with the 18-year-old Spaniard and thinks he is the perfect fit for the way in which he wants his team to play. The report suggests that the Liverpool manager is particularly impressed with Pedri’s ‘style, pace and vision’. The Reds are allegedly ready to pay €100 million (£88 mi...
Report: Klopp tried to bring 63-cap international back to Liverpool this summer
Liverpool have tried to re-sign Philippe Coutinho on a couple of occasions already this summer according to Mundo Deportivo (print edition, August 21, page 3). The 29-year-old was absolutely brilliant for the Reds during a five-year spell at Anfield. The 63-capped Brazil international bagged 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 games in all competitions and was a key player for Brendan Rodgers and Jurgen Klopp. However, his form has nosedived since joining Barcelona from the Reds for around £142 million in January 2018 (BBC). Coutinho in action for Barcelona Liverpool have tried to re-sign Coutinho That’s according to Mundo Deportivo. The Spanish publication claims that the Merseyside outfit have regularly ‘probed’ Barca regarding a swoop for the mercurial South American. The Coutinho of today w...
Inter Miami owner ‘optimistic’ that Leo Messi will join in the future
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas believes his side will be able to land Barcelona star Lionel Messi in the future. Messi’s contract with Barcelona will expire at the end of this month and the club is desperately trying to tie down the 33-year-old to a new deal. Various reports have stated that Messi’s potential Barca extension would include a provision for him to play two more seasons in Spain, then move to Inter Miami in 2023. Mas confirmed that he and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham have been involved in talks to bring Messi to Florida. “David and I have been working really hard, we have aspirations of bringing the best players here and Leo Messi is a generational player, arguably the best player of all time,” Mas told the Miami Herald. “I am optimistic Messi will play in an Inter Miami sh...
PSG steals Georginio Wijnaldum from Barca’s grips with better offer
Liverpool’s Dutch midfielder, Georginio Wijnaldum, who had been a long-time target to firm up the Catalan midfield for Barcelona, made a sudden volte face by deciding for former French Ligue champions Paris Saint-Germain instead. Just when the details of his move from former English Premier League champions Liverpool were almost fully sorted with arrangements on course for Wijnaldum’s medicals at Camp Nou, PSG jumped ahead to challenge for the midfielder’s interest with a juicier offer which appears to have worked in their favour. The Ligue 1 side has now won the race to sign 30-year-old central midfielder on a free transfer from Liverpool. PSG found their way around advanced talks between Wijnaldum and Barca by showing the defender their determination to attract him to Paris by improving ...
Xavi explains why he has snubbed Barcelona managerial job twice
Xavi has been explaining why two offers from Barcelona to become their next manager were snubbed. The Liga giants have sounded out a familiar face on a couple of occasions in recent years when finding themselves in need of inspiration from the dugout. Both approaches have been knocked back, with a club legend who continues to cut his coaching teeth in Qatar with Al Sadd not yet of the opinion that the time is right to retrace his steps to Camp Nou. Discussing his decision to reject two advances from Catalunya, Xavi has told La Vanguardia: “Fortunately or unfortunately I have said no to Barcelona twice, due to different circumstances, family, professional, contractual… “And of course it was very difficult because I am a Barcelona fan, but it was not the [right] time.” The World Cup winner a...
Jordi Cruyff returning to Barcelona in advisor role
Jordi Cruyff, the son of Barcelona legend Johan, is returning to Camp Nou in an advisor role. The 47-year-old followed in the footsteps of his famous father when stepping out of the La Masia academy system in Catalunya. Much of his career was spent away from Barca, while he has also dabbled in coaching since hanging up his boots, but a familiar face now forms part of the restructuring work being put in behind the scenes by Blaugrana president Joan Laporta. Barca have said in a statement on the club’s official website: “FC Barcelona announces that Jordi Cruyff will join the football area of the Club and form part of the new organisational structure as of August 1. “Jordi Cruyff, who was a player in Barca’s youth teams and in the Barca first team from 1993 to 1996, returns in a strategic rol...
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...
Manchester City’s Eric Garcia agrees five-and-a-half year deal at Barcelona
Manchester City defender Eric Garcia has agreed a five-and-a-half year deal with Barcelona with the clubs closing in on a cut-price agreement, report El Mundo Deportivo. It is claimed that there is a deal which will see the Blaugrana pay €5m – in a transaction that will go through next season – alongside a further €5m in variables for the player, who is out of contract this summer. Back in August, City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed the player would not renew his deal at the English club and the defender is now taking centre stage of Barcelona transfer news this calendar year. The central defender has been a Cule all his life but joined City in 2017 from the Catalan giants, with previous multiple reports claiming they have been eyeing a return for the past year. Reports have drawn parallels ...
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...
Barcelona: Ansu Fati to undergo surgery on knee injury
Ansu Fati is to undergo surgery on the torn meniscus he suffered in Barcelona’s 5-2 win over Real Betis. The 18-year-old forward was substituted at half-time in Saturday’s contest at Camp Nou and Barca later confirmed that he had sustained damage to his left knee. “Fati had some discomfort in the first half and we replaced him at half-time so as not to take risks,” coach Ronald Koeman told reporters after the game. Fati is now set to have an operation on Monday, after which Barca said they will release further details about the possible length of his absence. A club statement read: “The first team player Ansu Fati will undergo surgery [on] Monday for the injury to the meniscus in his left knee by Dr. Ramon Cugat under the supervision of the club’s medical services. “Once this intervention ...
Barcelona boss explains decision to rest Lionel Messi for Real Betis win
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has confirmed he opted to leave Lionel Messi on the bench for their 5-2 La Liga win over Real Betis as a precaution. Messi started as a substitute at the Camp Nou after reports of a minor injury picked up in the 2-1 midweek Champions League win over Dynamo Kyiv. Koeman brought the Argentinian international on as a second half substitute against Manuel Pellegrini’s side with the 33-year old playing a vital role in their first win for a month. Messi’s dummy created a perfect chance for Antoine Griezmann to make it 2-1 to the hosts before he netted twice himself in the final half hour. “Since yesterday we talked and he had some discomfort from the game against Dynamo Kyiv,” Koeman told a post game interview with Marca. “We decided it was best to leave him on the b...
Barcelona’s domestic woes continue with Alaves 1-1 draw
Antoine Griezmann helped to salvage a point for Barcelona as their struggles in La Liga continued with another disappointing result; a 1-1 away draw against 10-man Deportivo Alaves on Saturday. The visitors, who had lost their prior two league matches, were behind in the first half after a goalkeeping blunder by Neto allowed Luis Rioja to open the scoring. Barca actually started the match brightly. Their gifted youngster Ansu Fati raced clear of the Alaves defence early on but could only strike his effort wide. However, the visiting defence appeared to lack confidence and looked vulnerable on the counter. Alaves left midfielder Luis Rioja tried to exploit this but brought a smart save out of Barca keeper Neto after fine play by Brazilian centre forward Deyverson. It was from another such A...
