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Tag: Barca

  • Man City set price for Barca target Raheem Sterling

    Man City set price for Barca target Raheem Sterling

    Manchester City have set their price for Raheem Sterling as Barcelona monitor developments.

    Marca says City have told any club interested in signing Sterling that they will have to pay £67m to get a deal done.

    Barcelona’s need for a new winger is exacerbated by Ousmane Dembele’s contract situation – his deal is set to expire at the end of the season. The club could look to move him on in January for a cut price to avoid losing their £135million signing on a free transfer.

    Recent reports in Spain have linked Barcelona with an initial loan move for Sterling because their financial woes mean they could not afford to pay a huge fee for the former Liverpool star at present.

    Sterling has 18 months remaining on his current contract at the Etihad Stadium but has opted against opening discussions over an extension until his short-term future is resolved.

  • Messi joining PSG a monumental Barca error – Laurent Blanc

    Messi joining PSG a monumental Barca error – Laurent Blanc

    Former Barcelona defender Laurent Blanc says losing Leo Messi is a huge blow for the club.

    Blanc stated that, while Lionel Messi’s arrival at Paris Saint-Germain is excellent news for Ligue 1, it is the opposite situation for Barcelona.

    “For French football it’s incredible to have [Lionel] Messi, Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe in the same league,” he said in an interview with Panenka.

    “PSG are on another planet, yes, but it is good for Ligue 1 to see these players week after week.

    “If I look at it from Barcelona’s perspective, I believe that they have committed monumental errors. Monumental.

    “Not only in relation to Messi, but looking at the last four or five years.

    “They have lost incredible players, which a club like Barcelona cannot allow.

    “You can’t lose Neymar or Messi, because it is very difficult to replace them.”

    The Frenchman also revealed just how close he came to being appointed as Barcelona coach in 2017.

    “I spoke two or three times with Eric Abidal,” Blanc said.

    “Obviously it was a dream to coach a club like Barcelona, but it didn’t happen for various reasons.

    “It wasn’t the right time or someone believed that I wasn’t ready for it. That’s life.”

  • Barca in talks to sign Raheem Sterling from Man City

    Barca in talks to sign Raheem Sterling from Man City

    La Liga side Barcelona are in talks with Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling.

    Sport reports that Barcelona are looking to bring the forward to the Nou Camp on loan.

    Mateu Alemany, the Spanish club’s sporting director, has been in Manchester to hold talks regarding a potential switch.

    The Catalans saw the likes of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann leave in the summer, leaving them light in attack.

    Sterling is thought to be open to the move, understanding that he can be a leading light at Barcelona due to their lack of options in the final third.

    Sterling has grown frustrated at his lack of minutes under manager Pep Guardiola.

    His current deal is due to enter its final 18 months and Arsenal are thought to be keen.

  • No manager could do better at Barca – Koeman

    No manager could do better at Barca – Koeman

    Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman insists no other manager could do better than he has with the current squad.

    Ahead of their Atletico Madrid clash this weekend, Koeman was asked if another coach would do better with Barca this season.

    “I don’t know what another coach would do, do I also have to talk about another coach? The squad in three months will be the same. There is a lot of talk about the system but the system is based on the players we have,” he said.

    “And we don’t have wingers with one on one and that’s why I put wing-backs. With the money bag I would still have Messi here. It is to prepare the game with what there is. If people recover we can have the strongest squad. But the young players deserve more opportunities.”

    Koeman was asked if he had been insulted.

    “No need to answer. What do you think? You are very important. You can help, you can criticise. It is not a question of being good or bad, it is the treatment.”

  • La Liga: Laporta and Barca board clash over Andrea Pirlo

    La Liga: Laporta and Barca board clash over Andrea Pirlo

    Barcelona president Joan Laporta wants to bring former Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo to the Nou Camp.

    That’s according to RAC1’s Gerard Romero, who was speaking on his Twitch stream last night.

    “In Barcelona we have been living in a truly unbearable situation for days now,” Romero began. “Since last summer, Mr. Koeman knows that he does not enjoy Laporta’s trust and also that he remained at the helm of the blaugrana only because the club did not have the money to kick him out.

    “The relationship between Koeman and Laporta was already precarious and complicated, but the negative effects of the team in this start of the season have deteriorated even earlier than we could have expected.

    “Pirlo is a personal bet by Joan Laporta. The Blaugrana president feels he has a gift for discovering coaches and is thinking seriously about him, despite the management claiming to have better options on the table for the Barcelona bench.

    Laporta reflects on Pirlo, then, but he does not have the support of the sporting and technical part. We will see what happens, it will surely be burning hours.”

  • Changing Barca coach not the solution – De Jong

    Changing Barca coach not the solution – De Jong

    Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong insists coach Ronald Koeman should be kept on after their Champions League defeat to Benfica.

    De Jong was one of the better performers on a difficult night for Los Cules, however the club’s Champions League campaign is in danger of being a total disaster after losing to both Bayern Munich and Benfica in their opening two group-stage matches.

    “I don’t think changing the coach is the solution,” De Jong declared in his post-match interview.

    “I can’t talk about Koeman, it’s not my place.

    “We have to keep fighting, stay together and overcome this situation. We can only escape this with hard work and being united as a team.”

    De Jong felt that Barcelona’s performance in the first half wasn’t too bad, but it was the missed chances which cost the Blaugrana.

    “It’s a difficult moment right now, they scored the first goal very early,” he added.

    “That always makes things difficult.

    “In the first half we didn’t play badly; we created chances but we didn’t score. After the second goal the game was too open and we didn’t react well.”

  • Barca board to meet today about Koeman position

    Barca board to meet today about Koeman position

    Barcelona’s board are set to meet today to discuss coach Ronald Koeman’s future.

    Sport says Barcelona’s board of directors

    weren’t willing to make a decision on Koeman’s future while the team is still in Lisbon, despite the hammering Benfica handed them at the Stadium of Light.

    Any call on whether Koeman stays or goes before Saturday’s LaLiga game against Atletico Madrid will be made on Thursday instead.

    After the 3-0 loss to Benfica, Barça are in a complicated situation, bottom of their Champions League group with no points from two games.

    The club will now take some hours to reflect and on Thursday a decision could be made on Koeman’s future.

    The Dutchman’s been under pressure for weeks after dropped points against Granada and Cadiz, in addition to the defeat to Bayern Munich.

  • UCL: Benfica thrash Barca to heap pressure on Koeman

    UCL: Benfica thrash Barca to heap pressure on Koeman

    Benfica swept aside Barcelona to heap more pressure on boss Ronald Koeman, whose side have made their worst start to a Champions League campaign.

    Barca have lost their opening two matches for the first time, and sit bottom of Group E.

    Benfica opened the scoring inside three minutes, when Darwin Nunez cut inside and finished low into the near corner.

    Rafa Silva then clipped in a second and Nunez netted a penalty in a comfortable victory for the home side.

    Nunez also hit the post from out wide after rounding stranded Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who made a rash decision to charge out of his area.

    Luuk de Jong missed a glorious chance to level for the visitors early in the first half when presented with a seemingly open goal.

    Things got worse for Koeman and the La Liga side when Eric Garcia was sent off for a second booking with three minutes remaining.

    Defeat means Barcelona are in danger of failing to reach the knockout stage for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when they did not qualify for the Champions League.

    The last time they failed to progress from the first group stage when playing in the competition was in the 2000-01 campaign.

  • Barca receive offer from UAE to sell €1.5bn debt

    Barca receive offer from UAE to sell €1.5bn debt

    Barcelona have received an offer for their €1.5bn debt to be paid by a company from the UAE.

    El Curubito on 8tv reports the company is willing to purchase Barça’s debt with a favourable repayment plan included.

    The cited media ensures it would be a good deal for Barça, who would not have to pay anything for two years.

    That period could be extended to up to 12 years, while the interest demanded by the company would be very low.

    Barça would receive €1.5bn immediately, so they would come out of the “intensive care unit” directors say they’re still in and would have the liquidity to make signings, which was not the case last summer.

  • Ronald Koeman insists Benfica clash not decisive for Barca

    Ronald Koeman insists Benfica clash not decisive for Barca

    Manager Ronald Koeman insisted on Tuesday that FC Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League visit to Benfica could not be classed as decisive in the early stages of Group E.

    Barca endured a tough start to the Champions League against Bayern Munich, failing to attempt a shot on target for the first time in the competition since Opta records began in 2003/2004.

    The Catalan club are looking to avoid losing their first two matches in a European campaign for only the second time in their history.

    They have previously lost both legs of their UEFA Cup first-round tie with Porto way back in 1972/1973.

    However, Koeman was in confident mood ahead of the trip to Portugal after crushing Levante 3-0 on Sunday, while shunning claims that Wednesday’s tie was a must-win.

    “Impossible, it is the second of six, it cannot be decisive,” Koeman initially responded to reporters on Tuesday before outlining his intentions.

    “FC Barcelona always plays to win the game. Our intention is to control, have the ball and look for spaces with the players we have.

    “We expect a difficult game. I know the atmosphere that can be in the stadium and the strength that [Benfica] have at home.

    “They play at home, and they will have the environment in their favour, they will try attack to win. It is not a team that plays not to lose. And we have the same intention at home or away, to take control of the game to win.”

    Koeman remained secretive as to whether the recovering Ansu Fati, who has now been involved in 17 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions following his strike against Levante, would feature.

    Memphis Depay has scored in his past two games against Benfica in the competition.

    Now he is expected to lead the line once more, though he did not attempt a single shot on matchday one against Bayern Munich.

    Whoever Koeman selects up top, Blaugrana centre-back Ronald Araujo is backing his side to compete and challenge for titles in both the Champions League and La Liga this term.

    “We are FC Barcelona, and we have to aspire to all the titles,” Araujo told reporters.

    “We cannot go to see what happens, we have to go to win and try to win as many titles as we can.

    “It’s an important game against a great rival, but we are going to win. We come from a great game at the weekend and I think that’s the way to go. We have to go for the three points.”