Catalan
Manchester City legend Kun Aguero to play backup role at Barcelona
Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero will play a backup role at Barcelona next term. The striker spent 11 trophy-laden years in Manchester, winning the Premier League five times and the FA Cup once. He is fourth in the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts with 184 strikes in 275 appearances. The ‘perfect’ combined England and Italy Euro 2020 XI Despite his incredible record, Barca have warned Aguero that he could spend a significant amount of time on the bench next season. That’s according to Spanish outlet AS (via Daily Mail), who claim that the Argentinian has already accepted the role. Barca are worried about Aguero’s fitness after he was limited to 12 top flight appearances in 2020/21. He suffered with a knee injury at the start of the campaign, a hamstring problem in November an...
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 ...
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 ...
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...
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...
European Union backs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO role
The European Union has endorsed former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Bloomberg reported. The business news outlet cited anonymous officials familiar with the matter that all the 27 EU member countries agreed on Monday in Brussels to support Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala. Bloomberg also reported that the United States has decided to back Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister, for the role. The position has been fiercely contested amongst candidates of different countries since Roberto Azevedo resigned in August. Last month, Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee were selected as the last two candidates in the contest. The EU’s endorsement is seen as a significant boost for Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, with the final winner expected...
Barcelona prepare final offer to land Lautaro Martinez from Inter
Barcelona are preparing a final offer for Lautaro Martinez, with the beleaguered Blaugrana ready to test Inter’s resolve as they prepare for life without Luis Suarez at the head of their attack. New boss Ronald Koeman recently made it clear to the Uruguayan, despite him being close friends with wantaway Lionel Messi, that he would no longer be a key player for the Catalans and should attempt to find a new club. And although Lyon attacker Memphis Depay has been mooted as a potential successor due to his ties with Koeman, Goal reports that Lautaro remains at the top Barca’s wishlist, with the Argentine seen as a complete centre-forward in the precise mould the club are looking for. There are many complications in the way, however, the most notable of which being the fact that Suarez still ha...
Lionel Messi makes contact with Pep Guardiola over Manchester City move
Lionel Messi has reportedly already been in touch with Pep Guardiola over a possible switch from Barcelona to Manchester City this summer. City are among the contenders to sign the 33-year-old after he allegedly handed in a formal transfer request on Tuesday. The Argentina international enjoyed illustrious success playing under Guardiola at Barca between 2008 and 2012, winning four of his six Ballons d’Or during that period. According to Radio Catalunya, Messi has been in touch with the Catalan coach about reuniting at the Etihad Stadium in the coming weeks. Messi’s contract stipulated that he could leave on a free transfer this summer, but Barca insist that clause expired in June and it may now be a case of City waiting 12 more months. Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are also be...
Manchester City targeting Mauricio Pochettino to replace Pep Guardiola
Manchester City are targeting Mauricio Pochettino as their next manager if Pep Guardiola fails to agree new deal, claims The Sun. Gaurdiola’s long-term future at the Etihad is in some doubt with the Spaniard yet to commit beyond next season. City are big fans of Pochettino with the former Tottenham boss keen to coach again in England. But Poch knows Guardiola, reeling from Saturday’s Champions League exit to Lyon, has just ten months left on his contract. So far Guardiola has not committed to staying beyond next summer, which could soon leave City in limbo. The club hierarchy would ideally like him to extend his deal and continue – despite another Euro failure. His close friends at City – chief exec Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain – are keen for him to stay on. Bu...
Philippe Coutinho set to join Arsenal on loan
Philippe Coutinho is reportedly set to join Arsenal on loan. Kia Joorabchian, the player’s agent, is negotiating his move with the London club. Since his arrival from Liverpool, Coutinho has failed to prove himself at Barcelona and had to spend his last season at Bayern Münich on loan. The Catalan club has been looking to off-load the 28-year-old for a long time now, and it is known that the Brazilian favors a move to the Premier League. Currently, all signs are pointing Coutinho’s next destination to be the Gunners. Coutinho’s loan period at Bayern had expired on June 30, but the parties went for an extension of 2 months after the player insisted to stay with the German club. According to reports from SunSet, the player could join Arsenal or Newcastle as early as next week. Get more stori...
Ederson credits Pep Guardiola with improving his game
Ederson has credited Pep Guardiola with making him a better goalkeeper and says the Manchester City boss “sees football in another way” to others. Brazil international Ederson has spent three seasons working under the Catalan coach, playing a key part in two Premier League title successes and four domestic cup triumphs. The 26-year-old is well known for his ability to command the box and start attacks from deep, but he was at fault for both goals in March’s derby defeat to Manchester United. However, Ederson insists that taking risks is something that is expected of him under Guardiola, who he credits for taking his game to the next level. “The role of a goalkeeper in Pep’s team is like the 11th outfield player on the pitch, in terms of the build-up, the pressing,” he told Sky Sports. “I t...
