El Profesor

I think Paulinho is indeed different from what Barcelona midfielders, André Gomes included. Gomes is really slow, like Ganso, he is a class, elegant player but his football simply doesn´t belong to this era, because he´s just too slow. Paulinho will add physical strenght and pace, his pass is not great, but he will accelerate and drive the team forward, also having some decent finishing for a player of his position. Honestly, I have no idea if Paulinho will succeed in Barcelona and like I´d have signed Matuidi before him but yes, he brings a different element to this team. He will probably fight with Rakitic for a starting position. Considering how bad Rakitic has been since last year, he could win it.

Oye, cálmate, El Cid! Ni todos los moros son terroristas. Seriously though, I think it makes a lot of sense to gulf investors to put their money in european football, they know that this is an industry on the growth and when the oil inevitably ends, they´ll own teams with an established fan base and worldwide reach. They´re smart. Have you read this Duncan Castles article? https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/manchester-city-meet-lionel-messi-11021687 He brings some very good points, especially the fact that Messi has not oficially signed his new contract and that he could move for free next year. I think it can happen, Balon, and I understand why he´d want to leave Barcelona, this board hasn´t shown they´re capable to build a team good enough to fight for titles.

I´ve just read that Manchester City is ready to play the 300 million euros Messi release clause. If City really wants Messi this is the time to pounce, Barcelona is a mess right now and players are probably very frustrated with the direction of the club. Balon and Chris, don´t kill me, but I can see him leaving for City.

I don't understand what China is doing there. It seems childish and petty. It just doesn't make sense to have tensions with one of their most powerful neighbours. It makes more strategic sense to secure their land borders, since the make or break conflict for China to gain more geopolitical power is the South China Sea.

Very. But in the long run, I think he´ll be just fine. Rakitic and Iniesta, on the other hand, I don´t think you can count on them to perform every week. Real Madrid has at least 16 players who could start, meanwhile Barça has 7 true starters, tops. Their attack masked the problems of that team, their midfield has been suspect for at least 2 seasons now. In that aspect, I kinda feel for Paulinho, he´ll get a lot of blame for everything that goes wrong, but Barcelona´s problems are way deeper and more serious.

Barcelona needs at least one more winger, a centre-back and right-back, not to mention one more midfielder, who in a ideal world to culés is Seri. It is ironic that 3 players in Paris Saint-Germain would fit well in that squad. Draxler, Kimpembe and Aurier would´ve made a lot of sense.

Juventus confirmed the signing of Matuidi today for 20 million euros. In style, he´s a very similar player to Paulinho, and is better and has more accomplished career than the brazilian. I think this tells it all about how bad is Barcelona´s board. Baloncito, if you culé guys need a scout, I think even I can do a better job. And since I´m a third world guy, cheaper as well. Why not Puyol for Barcelona president?

I don´t watch "Game of Thrones" but man, I´m still laughing at the inability of the spanish to upload the episode.

There is talent there, I agree, and I believe he can be an useful player to Barcelona, but not as a starter. In a different role, as a sub and occasional starter I could see him contributing to Barcelona. On the Paulinho transfer, in which scenario do you think he could thrive there? Obviously, I´m not in favour of that deal in a Barcelona perspective, but I´m trying to make sense of it. Perhaps they want more physical strenght than Rakitic offers? A change of formation, in which Valverde will drop the 4-3-3?

In the specific case of Neymar´s transfer to PSG, I agree, it was all his doing. Actually, you can argue that Barcelona should´ve taken a harder stance.

But don´t you agree that a significant part of Barcelona fans never really liked Neymar in first place? I´ve always had that impression reading the impression of Barcelona fans. I think his play style never really pleased more traditionalists culés.

That´s exactly why he had to leave. From a very early age, Neymar was used to being the main man at Santos, the most loved player by fans, media, etc... At Barcelona, I don´t think he was ever truly accepted by a significant part of the fans. My only grip with Barcelona fans outrage, is not outrage itself, that´s normal when there´s a big transfer in football, but the fact that some fans deny the fact that there are very reasonable factors that led to his exit. It is clear to me that it is not only about money. At Barcelona not only Messi is the main man, but also Iniesta is the responsible for creating in the zone where he plays. Few people noticed that, but Neymar and Iniesta never really had a great understanding on the left, and I always felt both players ended up being sacrificed. Neymar is at his best when you give full autonomy to ditacte the pace and create, like he does for Tite. I felt like he needed to leave, dude is already 25, and with his talent, I think he is right take the risk to try to lead a team. I always thought United was the club for him but only PSG would pay the clause, so it is what it is. Like I said, there are lots to be criticized about Neymar, but man noone can deny this was a very gutsy move. He will have to back that fee, the expectations and the pressure with his feet, on the pitch. In that sense, I see a lot of courage, ambition and confidence, something that lacked to some of the best brazilian players in recent years. You mentioned it, but I´m curious to see how Neymar will go down in Barcelona history. I think that after retires and after everyone forgave what happened during this summer, he will be viewed in a more positive light. In the end of the day, it´s impossible to deny that the he formed one of the best attacking trios ever seen.

Very negative. Some stadiums like the ones in Brasília, Cuiabá and Manaus don´t really have a use, since those cities do not have important football clubs. According to the news here, Luan is going to Spartak Moscow. Really good move for the russian club, but at the same time I kinda feel for Luan. He is in my opinion a quality player who could definitely play in a better league, but the only club in an important league to go after him was Sampdoria and Grêmio rejected their offer. Since he feels like it´s time to go to Europe, Spartak was the only option left for him. I think the european market really misjudged on this one.

On Neymar, here´s what I think: Neymar is, in my opinion, a generational talent. While I really believe in his talent, I think Barcelona can replace him. This is not because I think he is overrated nor anything like that, but because he never really seemed to truly integrate Barcelona´s style of play. He and Iniesta never had the same understanding Alves and Messi, for example, had. Neymar holds the ball for too long. This is not a problem in Brazil, for example, because he´s the go-to guy, but at Barcelona he slowed the flow and lost possession with no real gain. He was a nice ornment on that team, beatiful but not really essential. Going to PSG is quite a brave decision, if you ask me. In the end of the day, he will have to back up his decision and the immense expectations with his feet on the pitch. It won´t be easy. Staying at Barcelona, at the shadow of Messi would be much more comfortable, but he wanted the spotlight and he will be scrutinized for it. I don´t think money was the main factor, it obviously was a factor but not the main reason of his move, after all he rejected PSG last summer. I really believe he reached a point in his career where he wanted to be the main man at club level. There´s nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. On the contrary, this is the kind of ambition that moves the best athletes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi for example, and this is what lacked to players like Ronaldinho and Adriano after a point in their careers. Wanting to shine and having the desire for glory is what moves the best. What you can criticize is the fact that he lied when he said he only gave his word to PSG this past week. He definitely dealt on the back of Barcelona. I think he should´ve been honest about his desire to leave. Also, you can question if he´s mature enough to lead a team to a Champions League title. I think most Barcelona fans know Neymar can replaced, especially considering the fact they have 222 milllion euros to spend. What really hurts them is the fact that Neymar decided to leave them, because it really goes against their ideas of Barcelona being a special club. It may be to their fans and to some of their players, like Piqué and Iniesta, but for most football fans and players, Barcelona is a traditional, respectable club, but certainly not unique.

There was a military uprising against Maduro yesterday in Valencia, and today I´ve just read reports of more conflicts. A civil war seems to be starting in Venezuela.

i agree that Dybala doesn´t care the luggage (his father) Neymar does and that Neymar can hold the ball too much at times and lose posession in a foolish way in many occasions But I just don´t think Dybala comes close to Neymar in terms of talent. I think many fans have this image of Dybala watching only his highlights and not week in and week out of Juventus football. Even Chiellini has said recently that Dybala is not on the same class of Neymar.

Piqué just posted a pic with Neymar on Instagram and wrote: "Se queda." Apparently, Neymar will stay... untill he leaves. Who knows? Well, it´s so confusing.

If Barcelona signs only Dybala to replace Neymar then I think they´d be worse off. Dybala doesn´t have the speed nor the dribbling skills of Neymar, who is a better player in my opinion. Don´t get me wrong, Dybala is a very good player, I just don´t think he alone would make up for Neymar´s loss. Like I´ve said before, if Barcelona sign Dybala and a good midfielder with the Neymar money, then I think they´ll become a better and more balanced team.

Yes, Marcelo Bechler, Esporte Interativo's reporter in Barcelona, has just tweeted Neymar agreed terms with PSG. Huge news.

Mina is a very good defender. Word here is that he will move to Barcelona after the World Cup. He is a tall, solid young player who will benefit the minutes and experience he will get with Palmeiras untill his move to Europe. One area he could improve is his passing, since he will play in a club like Barcelona, that demands it, but I´m optimistic about Mina translating his game well in Europe. He´d be a good signing.

According to Di Marzio, Chelsea has just signed Rudiger, from Roma, for a 35 million euros fee. He is 24 years old. Good signing, he improved a lot in Italy.

Neymar is a immature, spoiled brat controlled by his extremely materialist father. No wonder Gabriel Jesus has much more charisma and overall brazilians find him much more likeable.

Like @LaSambadeStGermain pointed out, Lucas Lima is a good player but he´s definitely not good enough to Barcelona´s current standards. I expect Barça to try to sign nothing less than the best players available, considering their tradition, appeal and structure, but if they start to go after players like Lucas Lima, just because of his relationship with Neymar´s dad, that´s a dangerous path to the club and one that will not end well, since Messi and Iniesta won´t be there to carry the team forever. Once Neymar pai puts one player in Barça don´t expect him to stop there. I find it revolting.

Not much has changed. The national team is doing well under Tite but brazilian football remains a mess.

The problem here is that PSG is a very club to deal with. Verratti and the club he wants to go to will have to be very careful here. Pulling a Payet would never work with this PSG board. In my opinion, Verratti and not Dybala should be Barcelona's number 1 target. They have never really replaced Xavi and midfield is their main area of need in my opinion. Verratti is young and he should solve their midfield problems for a decade. It's worth it.