19 hours ago, big blue said:

Boehly goes for a meeting with Laporta, 24 hours later, Dembele and Raphinha both move closer to Barcelona. 

De ligt seems to prefer Bayern. 

Apparently we want De Jong but he prefers United. 

Its nice we are chasing some good players, and appear to have money to spend, but this looks very messy, scattergun approach. Can see this window being a disaster. Large amounts spent without improving. 

Transfer windows are tough. And because the world is getting worse everyday, transfer window is even tougher now. So it's not going to be easy to buy players today. Probably, every team now want to make excessive profits from selling their players now, so if you don't have enough money, you will not be able to buy players these days.

And that is why, any player you have, you have to manage them well, give them long term contracts, so that you can make money from selling your own players too, and be able to buy players in this football market of today.

When we bought Lukaku for 100m last season, we didn't make much gain from all that money we spent on him, and for me I think that is down to how the manager managed him. We knew he had his strengths and his weaknesses when we went to buy him, so a good manager would have set up the team to play to his strengths. No need to be complaining about his weaknesses, we knew he had those weaknesses when we went to buy him.

Now, all the 100m we spent on him last season is wasted. We can all see the big prices of players in today's market, so any player we have, we need to manage them well, make them happy, give them chance to improve,so that our players can also have market value, and our team will be okay, and we will not keep making losses on our players.

Edited July 9, 20224 yr by hephzibah

It seems pretty clear that Leeds would prefer our offer, so if there is a chance for them that Raphinha could be convinced to join us, they really have no reason to accept any offer Barca makes if it doesn't meet their conditions.

If you are the Leeds officials and you have the chance to get the whole fee in one payment, why would you accept a pay structure in installments over several years, in particular with a club like Barca who the whole world knows are in financial turmoil?

If I would be the Leeds officials I would try to persuade the player to accept the offer which fits the clubs interests better.

It makes no sense that all these clubs, and especially smaller clubs like Leeds, try to make business with a club on the brink of bankruptcy like Barcelona. Would you rather sell anything to a person who is in danger of having the bailiffs calling on debts or to someone that’s not in financial trouble? I can’t understand how Barcelona is getting away with making transfer business, if they leave a debt to Leeds, Bayern and any other team that sells them players this season, it’s on the selling club.

59 minutes ago, Blue2 said:

It seems pretty clear that Leeds would prefer our offer, so if there is a chance for them that Raphinha could be convinced to join us, they really have no reason to accept any offer Barca makes if it doesn't meet their conditions.

If you are the Leeds officials and you have the chance to get the whole fee in one payment, why would you accept a pay structure in installments over several years, in particular with a club like Barca who the whole world knows are in financial turmoil?

If I would be the Leeds officials I would try to persuade the player to accept the offer which fits the clubs interests better.

Even parking the huge issue that is "Barcelona", with inflation running at nigh on double digit across the world, every club selling a player ought to want all the money up front. It really should be game over if we can do this and Barcelona can only spread the fee for Raphinha over several years ... I'm surprised Leeds haven't told Barcelona to foxtrot oscar ... 

Edited July 9, 20224 yr by Sexyfootball

Yeah obviously Leeds want him to come here but out of respect for the players wishes they are giving Barca a limited time to agree a deal that works for them both. 

By the sounds of it Barca have the weekend to agree a deal with Leeds or Deco will be contacting us to go over terms again.

Given Barca cannot register AC or Kessie yet him they can afford to burn 55 mill or Raphinha and 50mill on Lewa is beyond me.

The fact that Barca are allowed to operate as if nothing happened ia an absolute farce and disgrace. We were banned for two windows for things Spanish top clubs were given a slap in the wrist for. Now the whole world is aware that Barcelona has been living well beyond their means for years and yet they are allowed to sign players right, left and center with the money they haven't got. Apparently the De Jong transfer to MU is delayed because they owe the player £17m (!!!) in wages. Currently they're desperately attempting to raise an absolute fortune through some shady deals just to stay afloat. So what happened to FFP? The whole thing stinks of corruption.

https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/chelsea-fc-transfer-rumours-news/2022/7/9/23201972/raphinha-giving-barcelona-48-hours-before-resuming-talks-with-chelsea-report

Confirmation of the speculation above. Barca have matched the value of our deal, our deal being worth 60mill (50mill up front and 10mill in performance related add ons). Barcas offer is far less up front, installment plan lasting years and a lot more contingent on performance related bonus. Leeds would screw themselves taking that .

Be funny if Leeds takes the piss and comes up with something like "we don't need no 60M to be payed in 15 years, you are a broke ass club, pay it up front or get out of here, we're not even sure if you are going to exist in a couple of years". Like some Bayern journalist did a few days ago hahah.

25 minutes ago, petre ispirescu said:

Be funny if Leeds takes the piss and comes up with something like "we don't need no 60M to be payed in 15 years, you are a broke ass club, pay it up front or get out of here, we're not even sure if you are going to exist in a couple of years". Like some Bayern journalist did a few days ago hahah.

Barcelona bid as good as a post it note I Owe You.

4 hours ago, abramovich said:

The fact that Barca are allowed to operate as if nothing happened ia an absolute farce and disgrace. We were banned for two windows for things Spanish top clubs were given a slap in the wrist for. Now the whole world is aware that Barcelona has been living well beyond their means for years and yet they are allowed to sign players right, left and center with the money they haven't got. Apparently the De Jong transfer to MU is delayed because they owe the player £17m (!!!) in wages. Currently they're desperately attempting to raise an absolute fortune through some shady deals just to stay afloat. So what happened to FFP? The whole thing stinks of corruption.

If they owe just one player 17m, I really would like to know how much they owe their whole squad in delayed salaries. I think that I read somewhere that they still owe Messi a huge amount of money too and he left a year ago. It seems a realistic estimation that they still owe their players clear upwards of 100m€ from the covid seasons.

With that in mind and the fact that they have problems with player registrations according to the LaLiga salarie cap, based on their financial situation, it seems absolutely bizarre that Barca tries to sign several players for premium prices, even when there is not even a direct necessity based on their squad situation.

Why do they need Raphinha for 60m?

If they are succesful in signing Dembele on a new contract, what it looks like, they have Ferran Torres whose main position was RA before Barca signed him for 50m just this January, eventhough he can play anywhere in offense. Aside of that they still have Trincao on the books whose main position is RA/RW, plus Collado, Dest and Abde can play this position too, even Aubameyang has experience playing this position. They have options without him.

The same question could be asked about Lewandowski.

For CF they have Aubameyang (who they just signed in January and he hasn't performed badly for them), Depay, Braithwhaite and Ferran Torres, these options aren't bad, but they want to sign Lewandowski for 50m(+ rumoured wages of 30m a season) who is 34 come August(no resale value) and has just one year left on his current contract.

Are prestige transfers really that valuable from a marketing point of view, that a club with such a precarious financial situation would try such a transfer?

With Kounde it's the same.

Kounde is primary a RCB and at Barcelona with Lenglet gone, all of their CBs besides Umtiti, whose knees are reported to be shot, are primary rightsided if they play in their normal 4-3-3 system at Barcelona. They extended Araujo, signed Christensen on a free, still have Pique on their books, plus Garcia and Mingueza, but somehow they want another rightsided CB who would cost them 60m+, when they actually need a leftsided CB.

With Azpi and Alonso included who they want from us, they probably negotiate transfers worth 200m just on fees alone right now and I agree that it seems absolutely crazy that this is possible without any regulatory entity investigating them, if there is not some kind of corruption and favoritism involved.

Even if they could somehow realize these transfers, like it is said they would have to get many players off their books before they can even registrate them to play and with their situation in mind, why should players who are probably still owed millions have any interest in leaving without getting paid what they are legally entitled to?

With the way they act, it would definitely be nice to see them getting hit with some kind of sanction.

16 minutes ago, Blue2 said:

If they owe just one player 17m, I really would like to know how much they owe their whole squad in delayed salaries. I think that I read somewhere that they still owe Messi a huge amount of money too and he left a year ago. It seems a realistic estimation that they still owe their players clear upwards of 100m€ from the covid seasons.

With that in mind and the fact that they have problems with player registrations according to the LaLiga salarie cap, based on their financial situation, it seems absolutely bizarre that Barca tries to sign several players for premium prices, even when there is not even a direct necessity based on their squad situation.

Why do they need Raphinha for 60m?

If they are succesful in signing Dembele on a new contract, what it looks like, they have Ferran Torres whose main position was RA before Barca signed him for 50m just this January, eventhough he can play anywhere in offense. Aside of that they still have Trincao on the books whose main position is RA/RW, plus Collado, Dest and Abde can play this position too, even Aubameyang has experience playing this position. They have options without him.

The same question could be asked about Lewandowski.

For CF they have Aubameyang (who they just signed in January and he hasn't performed badly for them), Depay, Braithwhaite and Ferran Torres, these options aren't bad, but they want to sign Lewandowski for 50m(+ rumoured wages of 30m a season) who is 34 come August(no resale value) and has just one year left on his current contract.

Are prestige transfers really that valuable from a marketing point of view, that a club with such a precarious financial situation would try such a transfer?

With Kounde it's the same.

Kounde is primary a RCB and at Barcelona with Lenglet gone, all of their CBs besides Umtiti, whose knees are reported to be shot, are primary rightsided if they play in their normal 4-3-3 system at Barcelona. They extended Araujo, signed Christensen on a free, still have Pique on their books, plus Garcia and Mingueza, but somehow they want another rightsided CB who would cost them 60m+, when they actually need a leftsided CB.

With Azpi and Alonso included who they want from us, they probably negotiate transfers worth 200m just on fees alone right now and I agree that it seems absolutely crazy that this is possible without any regulatory entity investigating them, if there is not some kind of corruption and favoritism involved.

Even if they could somehow realize these transfers, like it is said they would have to get many players off their books before they can even registrate them to play and with their situation in mind, why should players who are probably still owed millions have any interest in leaving without getting paid what they are legally entitled to?

With the way they act, it would definitely be nice to see them getting hit with some kind of sanction.

100% agree. Their players and ex-players are basically playing on an IOU basis yet nobody gives a sh*t. 

1bn++ in debt and they're still playing like FM on steroids. Crazy business strategy. 

The one positive about Barca's spending spree is that they might actually go completely bankrupt at some point and get folded

Welcome to Barcalona, Raph. Get ready to be owed 1/2 of your salary.

This is the start of the Barcalona bankrupt, until they are going to do a money hist, can't see they last the season and beyond.

 

4 hours ago, Blue2 said:

If they owe just one player 17m, I really would like to know how much they owe their whole squad in delayed salaries. I think that I read somewhere that they still owe Messi a huge amount of money too and he left a year ago. It seems a realistic estimation that they still owe their players clear upwards of 100m€ from the covid seasons.

With that in mind and the fact that they have problems with player registrations according to the LaLiga salarie cap, based on their financial situation, it seems absolutely bizarre that Barca tries to sign several players for premium prices, even when there is not even a direct necessity based on their squad situation.

Why do they need Raphinha for 60m?

If they are succesful in signing Dembele on a new contract, what it looks like, they have Ferran Torres whose main position was RA before Barca signed him for 50m just this January, eventhough he can play anywhere in offense. Aside of that they still have Trincao on the books whose main position is RA/RW, plus Collado, Dest and Abde can play this position too, even Aubameyang has experience playing this position. They have options without him.

The same question could be asked about Lewandowski.

For CF they have Aubameyang (who they just signed in January and he hasn't performed badly for them), Depay, Braithwhaite and Ferran Torres, these options aren't bad, but they want to sign Lewandowski for 50m(+ rumoured wages of 30m a season) who is 34 come August(no resale value) and has just one year left on his current contract.

Are prestige transfers really that valuable from a marketing point of view, that a club with such a precarious financial situation would try such a transfer?

With Kounde it's the same.

Kounde is primary a RCB and at Barcelona with Lenglet gone, all of their CBs besides Umtiti, whose knees are reported to be shot, are primary rightsided if they play in their normal 4-3-3 system at Barcelona. They extended Araujo, signed Christensen on a free, still have Pique on their books, plus Garcia and Mingueza, but somehow they want another rightsided CB who would cost them 60m+, when they actually need a leftsided CB.

With Azpi and Alonso included who they want from us, they probably negotiate transfers worth 200m just on fees alone right now and I agree that it seems absolutely crazy that this is possible without any regulatory entity investigating them, if there is not some kind of corruption and favoritism involved.

Even if they could somehow realize these transfers, like it is said they would have to get many players off their books before they can even registrate them to play and with their situation in mind, why should players who are probably still owed millions have any interest in leaving without getting paid what they are legally entitled to?

With the way they act, it would definitely be nice to see them getting hit with some kind of sanction.

Great post

What I can't understand is why no media outlet seems to be raising this. Surely somebody must be questioning this

"Dembele close to Barcelona contract, Raphinha deal on hold

 

Ousmane Dembele on the verge of finalising a new two-year contract to stay at Barcelona - a deal which is likely to put Raphinha’s dream move to the Nou Camp further on-hold.

 

Barca’s decision to prioritise Dembele over Raphinha will mean the Leeds forward will have to wait even longer into July for this potential move.

He was left out of Leeds’ pre-season tour to Australia and Arsenal and Chelsea also want to sign him – but he prefers to join Barca.

The Catalonian club are hoping to activate what the Spanish press are describing as a “second economic lever” later this month, that is expected to bring in hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of investment.

But Barca also want to strengthen the squad with other players including Robert Lewandowski and Cesar Azpilicueta."

 

Taken from Skysports.

 

Given Deco and Leeds were supposed to have given Barca 48 hours to make a deal they probably won't be happy to hear this.

 

9 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Given Deco and Leeds were supposed to have given Barca 48 hours to make a deal they probably won't be happy to hear this.

 

There seems to be some belief in Catalonia/Barca fans that they will activate the 2nd economic lever next week. Truth of the matter is this won't actually be activated until the end of July, because in order for them to do this they also need to make a big sale. (De Jong)

Quote

(The second economic ‘lever’ will come with the sale of BLM (Barça Licensing & Merchandising) for a sum of money that will allow the accounts to be rearranged while waiting for a large sale to balance the Financial Fair Play Of the entity. means like Sport or BRAND They place the end of July as the date when said operation will be announced. Without this, the market is impossible.)

It's the very reason in Laporta's interview last week he said it would take some time before Barcelona activate it. 

Raphinha is as good as ours (knock on wood)

Edited July 10, 20224 yr by Sconnie Blue

Come to think of it I'd prefer Raphinha over Ous for Chelsea, so Barca making Dembele their priority signing of those two is ok for me. But I acknowledge that it's hardly worth ones time discussing newspaper articles regarding these transfer "dramas".

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

"Dembele close to Barcelona contract, Raphinha deal on hold

 

Ousmane Dembele on the verge of finalising a new two-year contract to stay at Barcelona - a deal which is likely to put Raphinha’s dream move to the Nou Camp further on-hold.

 

Barca’s decision to prioritise Dembele over Raphinha will mean the Leeds forward will have to wait even longer into July for this potential move.

He was left out of Leeds’ pre-season tour to Australia and Arsenal and Chelsea also want to sign him – but he prefers to join Barca.

The Catalonian club are hoping to activate what the Spanish press are describing as a “second economic lever” later this month, that is expected to bring in hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of investment.

But Barca also want to strengthen the squad with other players including Robert Lewandowski and Cesar Azpilicueta."

 

Taken from Skysports.

 

Given Deco and Leeds were supposed to have given Barca 48 hours to make a deal they probably won't be happy to hear this.

 

"investment" 🤣🤣 

Their wage bill is 200m++ annually and they plan on adding more bloat. Everyday they move closer to financial implosion

10 hours ago, WhiteWall said:

What I can't understand is why no media outlet seems to be raising this. Surely somebody must be questioning this

Crazy isn't it? When Abramovich was forced to sell, it was endless doom articles about the club. Barcelona are one of the biggest football clubs around and they are a mess financially and barely a word has been said.

On 08/07/2022 at 19:59, d-one said:

And with zero results. I will rather take a mythical Roman with blockbuster results than a common Todd Boehly without a single thing to show for it. Never in Roman's time had multiple players rubbished us like this. 

I don't think Marina was as bad as some made out but there's a hell of a lot of rewitting of history going on here.

We were rejected by players multiple times in the Roman era, especially one's at the level of player we're going for this window Ake aside.

Edited July 10, 20224 yr by Argo

56 minutes ago, Deino said:

"investment" 🤣🤣 

Their wage bill is 200m++ annually and they plan on adding more bloat. Everyday they move closer to financial implosion

Theyve already imploded, The horse bolted, The farmer had a stroke and still the crops keep growing and the animals keep butchering themselves!

Its wild and makes an absolute mockery of the game at this point!

1 hour ago, Deino said:

"investment" 🤣🤣 

Their wage bill is 200m++ annually and they plan on adding more bloat. Everyday they move closer to financial implosion

We should help them in their quest

let them keep Dembele, let them take Raphina, only sell them Azpi and Alonso for immediate cash or player swaps, starve them of what they need most(even though they dont realise or accept it) .. Cash.

Then suggest they go for Ronaldo and Neymar and that we will withdraw/ take a back seat. And finally offer to take De Jong at X million but staged at a few million per year.- the first instalment being Azpi and Marcos Alonso plus cash .

 

If Todd Boehly is clever and i suspect he is, he could have Barca very dependant on the finances of the Mighty Chels to allow them to continue to function.

 

Edited July 10, 20224 yr by OneTommyLangley