FC Barcelona Discussion

[SirBalon]

Marlon will be making the step up now without a doubt. What he showed in the few games he had last season was top quality.

I wouldn't rule out Barcelona buying a centre-back though. 

[nfb_10]

I'm not really sure how to feel about Gerard Deulofeu being back quite yet, especially since he's displayed some traits that won't make him a success at Barcelona, such as excessive ball hogging, for example. He'll need to learn to cut stuff like that out in order to be good for us, but here's to hoping he does and he takes his chance to finally be a proper part of FC Barcelona's senior team, for the sake of the club. What I would say is that for the price, which is beyond peanuts in today's market, it was a good buy in that respect.

I wouldn't rule out Barcelona buying another CB either, but how serious do you think the Leo Bonucci rumours are? I mean, he's in the discussion for the best CB in the world, but...why the intrigue from Barca? It doesn't add up for me, especially since he's 30 years old and he'd cost a hell of a lot to prize away.

Here's to hoping the RB signing, be it Bellerin or someone else, is confirmed either this week or next week. 

[JoshBRFC+]

Any updates on the potential Verratti move  to Barcelona? Would be an amazing signing if it happened... they need to strengthen in these areas and stop replying on the likes of Messi. I think he had a very good season but the poor overall quality of the team (by their standards) means players like Messi don't get the recognition they deserve. Verratti and an experienced world class defender would be a very good transfer window in my opinion.

[SirBalon]

8 hours ago, JOSHBRFC said:

I think he had a very good season but the poor overall quality of the team (by their standards) means players like Messi don't get the recognition they deserve.

Obviously You're referring to the Ballon d'Or (at least I think you are)... If this is the case, then there's the problem which you've highlighted. The problem doesn't lie in what the collective achieved (which I agree should be taken into consideration), but as an individual award it should be measured as such. Messi has been by far the best player of the year so far (still a way to go) and not what's done in the final 3 months of the season. Even during that period where Cristiano had that purple patch, Leo was still playing tremendous football. Lets not forget that before that Cristiano Ronaldo great period, the player wasn't great which lasted most of the season (6 months) Cristiano had had his worst season to date and there were all sorts of debates as to whether Real Madrid should cash in on him.

As for Marco Verratti... Indeed he is the perfect addition to the team. I've said so many times before that there are only two players right now playing in midfield anywhere in the world that would sort out the issues from last season and those two players are Bayern's Thiago Alcántara (a L Masia player that was allowed to leave) and PSG's Marco Verratti.

Verratti is dying to go to Barcelona and Barça really want him. But it isn't an easy deal to make at all and I'm not sure it will happen. It all depends on how much pressure Verratti puts on his current club which until now has been a lot of pressure which hasn't come to nothing due to PSG's owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi not wanting to do any sort of deal with FCB. Since Barça dropped all associations with Qatar, there's been a pretty open war... It's not the fact Barcelona have moved on from Qatar sponsorship because all clubs move on... It's the reasons as to why Barcelona dropped them. Remember that Barcelona is a fan run club and for four years the members have been totally against any association with Qatar and labelling them a terrorist organisation in all of its institutions.

The background to these things is always important and that's why I've mentioned it.

Then there's the purely football aspect in all of this which is Verratti was the heart and soul of PSG's positive side to last season especially that whipping they gave Barcelona in Paris. He was absolutely incredible!

There are still possibilities that Verratti could still go but it isn't easy. PSG have already offered Verratti a whopping 50% rise in his wages to stay which he has refused. But remember that the Sheik is plagued with money and there's no problem in flashing the cash so as to stop this particular move from happening. We'll just have to wait and see on this one...

As for the centre-back... I don't believe the stories that emanated from Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport which is very Juve biassed and who informed of a supppsed offer from Barça for Bonucci. Barcelona tried to sign him two years ago but I don't think there's anything whatsoever in that story. Barça have Piqué and Umtiti who are brilliant. Then there's Mascherano who unless he leaves is a great cover with his experience and understanding of how Barça play. Also the young Marlon who looks class and could turn into a top top centre-back.

Right now there's also a pretty public war between both Barcelona and Real Madrid for the very talented Real Betis midfielder Dani Ceballos... Real made the first offer and it all looked odds on for that move to happen but in recent days Barcelona have made an offensive for the young player and it will be interesting to see what occurs there.

Edited July 4, 2017 by SirBalon

[Kowabunga]

3 hours ago, SirBalon said:

Right now there's also a pretty public war between both Barcelona and Real Madrid for the very talented Real Betis midfielder Dani Ceballos... Real made the first offer and it all looked odds on for that move to happen but in recent days Barcelona have made an offensive for the young player and it will be interesting to see what occurs there.

There's been some malicious portrayal of the saga as "karembeu 2.0" out there. 

Personally, I have admittedly seen very little of the lad, but he did strike me more as a young player with "peculiar talents" rather than as a "special talent" all the way , if you know what I mean. Therefore I tend to see all the next big thing fuzz around him as an overhyping campaign (glad to be proven wrong, though). What do you think?

In any case, given his relatively low buyout and youth, he is a no brainer investment.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Kowabunga

[SirBalon]

9 hours ago, Kowabunga said:

There's been some malicious portrayal of the saga as "karembeu 2.0" out there. 

Personally, I have admittedly seen very little of the lad, but he did strike me more as a young player with "peculiar talents" rather than as a "special talent" all the way , if you know what I mean. Therefore I tend to see all the next big thing fuzz around him as an overhyping campaign (glad to be proven wrong, though). What do you think?

In any case, given his relatively low buyout and youth, he is a no brainer investment.

Yeah, the Karembeu saga was one of the most ridiculous ones I've ever seen where two clubs go all bitchy for one of the most overrated players I can ever remember. 

I don't know where this could lead to but in today's football where representatives and agents have most of the power I can't see it getting ridiculous. 

As for my personal thoughts on Dani Ceballos... He's no novelty at all and has been spoken about quite a bit within the press for a while. I do think he's talented but I don't have the capability to see beyond that in this case. What I mean is that I don't have the eye to see if he's good enough for either Real Madrid or Barcelona. It's very difficult with this type of player to know if he fits in and in my view I feel that both clubs have been on check through the player's agent as to serious interest. He's been part of speculation before and I think that these types of clubs like Bayern is doing in Germany with anything decent that kicks a ball, they want to gobble it up before it all becomes too mainstream. The only difference is that in Germany they only have one club that monopolises whereas in Spain there are two.

I like him quite a bit but I think he should either stay there or take the next natural step up and not one so big. 

[SirBalon]

3 hours ago, Cannabis said:

Toni Duggan signs for FC Barcelona Femini:

Toni Duggan has become only the second English footballer to sign for Barcelona.

The 25-year-old striker joins the Catalonians from Manchester City, where she has played a key role for over four seasons, and has signed a two-year contract. Duggan has won the Women's Super League, FA Cup and Continental Tyres Cup with City, as well as England's player of the year for 2014. She follows Gary Lineker to the Nou Camp, who joined from Everton in 1986, and becomes the only member of the current England women's senior squad playing abroad.

Duggan said: "Barcelona are known all over the world for playing attractive football and I naturally wanted to be part of that. I think my style of play will suit the team and I'm honoured to be part of the club. My new coach, Fran Sanchez, has told me that their ambition is to win the Women's Champions League and the club have made that very clear with their signings over the years. I want to help my team mates to achieve that ambition.

"I've had a lot of success in England and I've really enjoyed my time with Man City, but I wanted to challenge myself even further by playing abroad. Barcelona are one of the world's biggest clubs and I've totally bought into their philosophy. I'm also looking forward to learning Spanish and living in the city."

Duggan scored 31 goals in 74 appearances for City, following a 2013 move from Everton, where she was their player of the year. She has 47 caps for England and scored 15 goals.

 

Barça have got a very established women's football team for quite some time. It is true that a lot is being invested in trying to win the Women's Champions League.

[SirBalon]

1 minute ago, Cannabis said:

Is it worth it financially? I mean, it must be for them to invest so much into getting it but I wouldn't have thought it'd be high on Barca's list considering what has happened this season in the men's game.

FC Barcelona heavily invest in almost 30 sporting sectors mate. Take the basketball team which tries to sign NBA players or their handball, roller hockey, futsal and various water sports where they frequently win the top honours.

Presiding Barça isn't an easy job juggling the money. 

[SirBalon]

7 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

Yeah, I understand that they have various different sectors but I didn't realise that it was that serious. I suppose that was just my ignorance . That last part of your post is so true aswell, running Barcelona is like spinning plates on quick-sand.

Barcelona's basketball team is one of the best in Europe mate and that takes a massive chunk of money in signings and wages from the club's annual budget. Remember that basketball is massive in the rest of Europe!

the roller hockey side is probably the best in the world and the waterpolo team has been one of the best in the world for decades.

Indeed it's difficult to juggle the cash at the club because it's massive!  This is the thing some people don't get when the club has to look at how much they spend on the men's football team. Barcelona are always amongst the top three biggest money makers in football but unlike some other sides in Europe, they can't just go mental on one sport due to the fact it isn't a PLC. FCB are run by the fans... it's a democratic process and everything and anything is passed through a vote on major changes. A lot of Barça fans don't even like football and only go to the basketball games for example...  what do you do with those club members that pay their annual fee?

The club also keeps expanding which brings in more money but also brings in much more responsibility. I remember as a young teenager that I didn't understand all of those sectors and thought that they were there just to fill the slots. But when I lived in Spain I understood how important all sports are and how important it is to maintain the club's roots. 

[Guest]

Great snap I found on google of Cruyff and Sotil.

[SirBalon]

The new jewel at La Masia is called Cristo

 

Cristóbal Muñoz, "Cristo" as he's known at the age of just turned 12 becomes the new jewel in the crown of La Masia coming in from outside as Iniesta and Messi done so many years ago.  'Cristo' is from Almería in the south of Spain and was formed in the infancy stage at UD Almería.

Cristóbal  has been the object of a battle with Real Madrid that even managed to go very public over a week ago and made the front page of a national sports newspaper. La Masia versus La Fábrica is an ongoing "who produces more" argument and in the past two years or so the present FC Barcelona board haven't done too much to show the care and attention that has historically been given to the most important thing about the club which is it's youth levels.  If there's one thing that has always been above all else at FCB it has always been La Masia, more so than even winning honours at senior level.

But this capture is extremely important at many levels in Spanish football because the tendency in the past 24 months has been for Real Madrid to capture young talented Spanish footballers breaking into the big time like Asensio from Real Mallorca and now it looks like Dani Ceballos from Real Betis...  Add to the important facts that both those players are Barcelona fans and both were touted by FC Barcelona...  Isco a year back further than that is another of those stories although in that particular case Barça didn't make a bid for the player now at Real Madrid.

Cristóbal Muñoz "Cristo" was born on the 1st of February 2005 in Almería (Andalucía).  He plays as an inside-left exactly the position that Inista plays...  They also have in common their extremely high levels of technique and ball control with the difference being that 'Cristo' right now has a very high goalscoring record with the ability to arrive as a second man in dangerous areas in and around the 18 yard box.  He has won the awards of best "Alevín" (child) player on two occasions and along with the even younger La Masia player Xavi Simons are considered the greatest prospects in Spanish child level football.  In other words, a massive coup by FC Barcelona and now remains to be seen if these kids are taken more seriously than others were by the present board at the club.

The picture above is one that the boy himself posted on his Instagram account the moment it was a signed deal he'd be heading off to live in La Masia for what will hopefully be a long long time.

 

Cristo, la nueva joya de La Masia, ya viste de azulgrana

[Stan]

is he gonna be the new Freddy Adu?

[Spike]

SirBalon likes young boys.

Edited July 9, 2017 by Spike

[Spike]

The attention they get is nothing short of disturbing.

[nfb_10]

@SirBalon Any chance that the vote of no confidence works? Irrespective of who we bring in, that would represent a great summer for FC Barcelona if it were to happen.

[SirBalon]

32 minutes ago, Messiesta said:

@SirBalon Any chance that the vote of no confidence works? Irrespective of who we bring in, that would represent a great summer for FC Barcelona if it were to happen.

A vote of no confidence on who? The president?

[nfb_10]

2 hours ago, SirBalon said:

A vote of no confidence on who? The president?

Yup, I read that Benedito gathered enough signatures for a vote of no confidence against the current board

[SirBalon]

Just now, Messiesta said:

Yup, I read that Benedito gathered enough signatures for a vote of no confidence against the current board

He hasn't gathered all the necessary votes but is close. Toni Freixa (my personal favourite) and Laporta (again) are in the process of doing the same thing.

Indeed the fans can censure the president and has been done various times before with Bartmoeu himself two years ago and Laporta most famously for spending stupid money on things aside from what should've been spent on.

Barça is a democracy! Unlike my club Arsenal where the majority of fans don't want the board and can't do anything about it. At the few clubs remaining like FC Barcelona, you can. The fans own the club!

[nfb_10]

3 hours ago, SirBalon said:

He hasn't gathered all the necessary votes but is close. Toni Freixa (my personal favourite) and Laporta (again) are in the process of doing the same thing.

Indeed the fans can censure the president and has been done various times before with Bartmoeu himself two years ago and Laporta most famously for spending stupid money on things aside from what should've been spent on.

Barça is a democracy! Unlike my club Arsenal where the majority of fans don't want the board and can't do anything about it. At the few clubs remaining like FC Barcelona, you can. The fans own the club!

I'm happy to hear that there's at least a chance of change and hopefully soon too, before Bartomeu and co. drive the club to ruins...

[Spike]

3 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

He hasn't gathered all the necessary votes but is close. Toni Freixa (my personal favourite) and Laporta (again) are in the process of doing the same thing.

Indeed the fans can censure the president and has been done various times before with Bartmoeu himself two years ago and Laporta most famously for spending stupid money on things aside from what should've been spent on.

Barça is a democracy! Unlike my club Arsenal where the majority of fans don't want the board and can't do anything about it. At the few clubs remaining like FC Barcelona, you can. The fans own the club!

A democracy isn't inherently positive. I'd rather have an enlightened despot than a choice between a turd and a douche. Though no system is perfect the illusion of choice is a nice drug.

[SirBalon]

Just now, Spike said:

A democracy isn't inherently positive. I'd rather have an enlightened despot than a choice between a turd and a douche. Though no system is perfect the illusion of choice is a nice drug.

I'd rather have a club functioning on the ideals football association was built on than a PLC mate where the shareholders matter and only them. 

[Spike]

Just now, SirBalon said:

I'd rather have a club functioning on the ideals football association was built on than a PLC mate where the shareholders matter and only them. 

But is that inherent to democracy? It doesn't matter what the method of selecting leadership is, just what the philosophy that the leader entails.

[SirBalon]

3 hours ago, Spike said:

But is that inherent to democracy? It doesn't matter what the method of selecting leadership is, just what the philosophy that the leader entails.

I'm not sure what you're getting at there in this particular point of the club.

I'm interpreting it as you saying that the only options Barça "socios" are getting is a selection for election of a figure head.  If this is the case, then that's erroneous because as in politics (not that politics is a fine example these days of diversification at the moment of selection) you get a choice of various groups standing for election with their own manifesto, their own vision of how the club should be run with priorities for the following 4 to 5 years.

With a PLC such as most clubs these days, you don't get any choices on what you want to prioritise.  With a PLC you answer to shareholders and shareholders look at their pocket and the best ways of adding more change to that bottomless sack in their trousers.

Arsenal fans have been complaining and manifesting themselves vocally for a while now with it all becoming more and more acute as time has gone by and they (the club) have even vetoed questions that can be asked by minor shareholders that happen to be fans and that are permitted by the rules to attend AGMs.

I know what I'm talking about in all of this and where there is no perfect manifestation of how things should be done in any sector because as you said, they all have flaws.  There are lesser evils and there are formats that are more inclusive of those that matter.

Edited July 10, 2017 by SirBalon

[nfb_10]

It seems that Valverde is against signing Bellerin and the favourite to be brought in is now Nelson Semedo. I haven't seen enough of Semedo to judge but from what I've heard of him he definitely won't be a bad buy and I'd be pleased with that, depending on the price at least. Hopefully we get Benfica to lower their asking price a bit.

[Cicero]

I don't understand how Kyle Walker isn't an option for you. Spurs would much rather sell to you than City, and Walker is the ideal candidate for the way Barca play.