Author name: admink

The midfielder spoke about the Dutchman replacing the veteran pivot

Pedri received the Kubala Trophy for the best goal of last season given by Catalunya Radio, and it was his strike against Galatasaray in the Europa League.

Here are some key quotes from his appearance on the radio station:

Do you like scoring goals? Everyone likes it, including the goalkeepers. Arriving (in the box) and bringing goals or assists to the team is always good.

Was it your best goal? Well, this one and the one against Sevilla I think were the goals that were hardest to score for how they were, but for me they are all important.

Return from World Cup: We played five games in a row, which were very demanding, but we have had time to recover and there’s still time before the game against Espanyol.

Blows: We are preparing well for what’s left of the season, we arrived well but it’s true we didn’t have the World Cup that we wanted. Now we have to focus on Barca.

Are you over World Cup disappointment? Yes, I think some time has passed and we have to concentrate on waht is to come. We have to change chip and put ourselves back in Barca mode.

Lucho’s goodbye: Luis has helped me a lot, he’s a coach who explains things very well. He made a good group and I think deserved more at the World Cup. It’s a pity, but now we are with Luis de la Fuente.

You had him at the U21s: Yes, also at the Olympics in Tokyo, where we did well. A pity we ended up with silver. We hope to achieve things with him.

Is Messi winning WC a consolation? I always said it, if we didn’t have the chance to win it, that I wanted Argentina and Leo Messi to, he deserves it and I played with him.

Messi WC performances: For me he’s the best player in history that I have seen. There are few words you can say about him because it’s all been said already.

Dembele and Kounde losing WC final: I haven’t had the chance to live it and if I get to a final I hope I win it, but I’m sure it’s a bitter pill. When they return we will support them to change chip and get back in Barca mode.

Xavi said Pedri and Gavi were better than him and Iniesta at the same age? It’s true that they, at our age, weren’t where we are now, but later they were at a great level, spectacular, for me a lot better than what me and Gavi are doing right now. To get to where they got to, we have a long way to go.

Last year of Busquets: Yes he’s a key piece. I love playing with him, it seems people don’t see his work but when he’s not on the pitch we notice it. I hope that he stays longer.

Is De Jong the replacement? Frenkie has a lot of quality, we have seen it when he plays with Holland in that position spectacularly. I think he could be a replacement.

Life without Pique: Gerard was a very important person in the dressing room, he helped us a lot and we laughed with him, but it was his decision. He will have his new life and I hope it goes well for him.

Who will bring the banter, you? I don’t know, I will, but not at Pique’s level.

The Catalan club will draw one of the lower league sides left in the cup

FC Barcelona now know who their possible rivals are in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey. At this stage, Xavi Hernández’s team can still not draw a team from LaLiga.

Barça will learn their cup opponent on Friday with the draw to be held from 12:30 p.m. at the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas.

Here are there possible rivals:

It should be noted that the match between La Nucía and Las Palmas has gone to extra time and the former could also face FC Barcelona in the next round if they win.

The defender hopes to be fit for the Catalan derby on Dec. 31

Ronald Araujo suffered, as explained at the time by Barcelona’s injury statement, an “avulsion of the adductor longus tendon of the right thigh.”

It happened during a friendly on September 23 with Uruguay against Iran in Austria during preparations for the World Cup in Qatar. The defender was barely able to play six minutes. Since then, he has not played again, although he is optimistic ahead of the derby against Espanyol on December 31 at Camp Nou.

The Uruguayan, a few days after being injured, traveled to Finland to be operated on by doctor Lasse Lempainen. From then on, all his efforts were focused on arriving with options to play the World Cup in Qatar with the Uruguayan team. The centre-back joined Diego Alonso’s squad with the aim of, when the time came, being available to the coach during the knockout rounds. However, Uruguay fell in the group stage, so Araujo never played in the tournament.

He returned to Barcelona just after the World Cup to continue his recovery at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, although Xavi gave him a few days off to disconnect before getting back to work. Since then, he has evolved very well and, without the requirement of a tight schedule, has been able to focus solely and exclusively on returning in the best possible conditions.

The date that has been marked is December 31. Araujo was present at the presentation of the documentary series ‘FC Barcelona, a new era’ and, when asked if he would be ready to play the derby against Espanyol and his feelings, he responded with “yes, good, good.”

From the injury to the visit from rivals Espanyol, more than three months will have passed. He still has 10 days to test himself during training.

The Blaugrana club sees the moment as propitious to make clear its commitment to the winger
Contacts could begin in February to show their support for the player after the World Cup

Ousmane Dembélé is not having a good time after a bad World Cup with France. Despite everything, Xavi Hernández considers him essential for the project as a differential player and the Blaugrana club values ​​making contacts to renew his contract that expires in 2024. The negotiation was not wanted to be addressed until the end of the season, but now it could be advanced to february.

The Blaugrana club wants to send a clear message of support to the footballer, betting on him for the future. Dembélé finally chose to stay at the Blaugrana club once his previous contract ended, although there were many tensions with his environment, breaking negotiations several times. Finally, a short contract was agreed with a low termination clause.

At Barça they also believe that it is a good time because Dembélé might not arouse as much interest in the market now, so there would be much less interference in the conversations. Barça does not want to enter into any bid or start the next season without having renewed it to avoid all the problems that occurred in its previous renewal. Now you can give yourself a peace of mind that, in a few months, could change.

Dembélé has always made it clear that he wants to continue at the club. He feels comfortable at Barça and in Barcelona and his role in the locker room has improved a lot in this last season, feeling more supported and respected. Barça understands that he is a valid footballer despite the World Cup downturn and proof of this is that, together with Lewandowski, he is the footballer most used by Xavi Hernández in attack.

At the moment, Barça has not made any movement, although it is likely that their agent will be summoned in February to start talking. In the event that an entente cannot be finalized between now and the summer, Barça could be forced, again, to place him on the market, something that is not contemplated now.

The coach will run the rule over three options to stand in for the Pole goal grabber

Normality is returning to Barcelona. The players are returning, with Ansu Fati and Eric Garcia coming back to training early. Most of the others will be back from Monday.

Those who reached the quarter-finals can have longer off – Memphis, De Jong and Raphinha will be back on Thursday.

Dembele and Kounde will be the last to arrive after reaching the World Cup final with France.

They should be back on Monday Dec 26, six days before the clash with Espanyol that kicks off the league season again.

Xavi is working out what to do without striker Robert Lewandowski. Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay are his options up front.

Ansu will have two weeks to convince the coach, while Ferran has been used as a false nine before. Memphis, arriving later, has less time.

Memphis played the most of the three at the World Cup, 300 minutes, but scored just one goal.

Ferran played 219 and scored twice.

Ansu did not score and only had 44 minutes in two games.

The Japanese playmaker has been linked to the Catalans in Germany

Daichi Kamada, the Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder, could be a surprise Barca signing in January, per the German media.

The Japanese playmaker’s deal ends in June and various bug sides are interested, including Borussia Dortmund and Barca. In Italy they say Serie A clubs are also interested.

Eintracht made him a juicy renewal offer but it seems he wants to change clubs. 

At 26 and with a market value of around 30m euros, Kamada shone against Barca last season in the Europa League. They are looking at replacements, including Julian Brandt, already.

The left-back will sign a new deal with the club until 2027

Alex Balde will renew his contract with Barcelona. There is the basis of a deal until 2027, with a 500m euro release clause.

The Barcelona full-back will improve his salary and along with Ronald Araujo and Gavi, is an important piece of the team locked down.

The announcement will be made when Barcelona can inscribe the new contract with La Liga, although because of the salary limit it’s not ruled out that he keeps playing as a B-teamer for now.

Balde’s renewal is important in a strategic sense for Barca. His deal expired in 2024, so the club started to speak with his agent Jorge Mendes last summer.

The deal is virtually agreed on now after the last few days were spent tying it up.

Balde had one of the lowest salaries in the squad, with a B-team contract plus a few first-team bonuses. 

Now he’s on the same salary scale as Gavi and Araujo, a little lower than Pedri and Ansu Fati, but with the opportunity to keep improving it through performance and variables.

Next the club will be looking at Marcos Alonso’s deal, at the end of January.

The deal for the Argentine striker was agreed after Ferran returned to Spain

Manchester City signed Julián Alvárez — the Argentina forward who shone in the semifinals of the World Cup in Qatar against Croatia — in January this year for €20 million.

Alvárez won the penalty that Leo Messi netted, he scored the second goal with an individual effort and the third after a great Messi run.

Three goal involvements which took a career carved out at River Plate to the next level. It was his goal with River that captivated Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City scouts in South America.

Guardiola saw the operation clearly as he knew of Barcelona’s interest in Ferran Torres, whom he had signed 18 mon this previouslt for €25 million. So City decided to sell Ferran Torres to Barcelona for €55 million to spend part of that income on signing Alvárez.

On Jan. 31, 2022, the day he turned 22, Álvarez signed for Man City, although he did not move immediately, staying for six months at River Plate to end the season in Argentina before beginning the 22/23 season with Guardiola’s City.

With this signing tied up, City opened the door for Ferran Torres to Barcelona, who paid double what City had paid to Valencia for him.

The signing of Ferran not only helped City to sign Alvárez, but they also used the proceeds from the sale of Ferran, in part, to secure the services of Erling Haaland, paying €60 million for the Borussia Dortmund striker, commissions aside.

The Catalan giants have to decide what to do with the talented playmaker

Barça will make a decision on the future of Pablo Torre in the coming days. The Blaugrana club has received three offers from top flight teams, requesting a loan until the end of the season and all parties will agree on the best for the young footballer, who is very reluctant to abandon the Blaugrana. Xavi will talk to him since he has had very few minutes in the first team and playing in the RFEF First Division with Barça Athletic could be a step backwards in his progression.

The proposals that Barça has are serious and one of them could be from Celta, although there are two more interested teams that would guarantee quality minutes in the top flight to a player who is destined to be very important at Barca. Pablo Torre, so far, has only been able to enjoy a start in the Champions League -against Viktoria Plzen, where he scored a goal- and got a few minutes in the league against Athletic with the game resolved. Now comes the decisive part of the season and the competition in midfield is great, with many players in the squad, so it seems clear that he will have little prominence between now and June.

Pablo Torre is determined to remain at the club throughout the season despite the risk of playing only in the B team or occasionally being called up with the first team. He is very comfortable in Barcelona, training daily under the orders of Xavi Hernández and learning all the mechanisms of Barça’s game. Already in the summer he had several offers to go out on loan to the second division, but he preferred to stay and try his luck to integrate into the team and the city.

Xavi Hernández is clear that he is a player of immense quality, but he cannot guarantee minutes this season. The coach prefers to have everyone available to avoid problems in the event that players get injured.

Xavi knows that it is a season full of games and tension, with the World Cup in the middle, and Pablo Torre could be necessary even if his participation is low. However, in the sports department they do see it as very interesting that the young midfielder can play in the top flight regularly and they believe that a loan would be perfect to complete his development.

Barça are very clear that the final decision will be made by the player and his people, despite the advice that he may be given. Sources from the club confirm that one of these proposals is from an important La Liga team. Everyone is moving cautiously because they want the best for his football career. The idea is to give him a first team number next season, although it is not ruled out that, finally, there will be a transfer depending on the movements that may occur in the summer market. Barça can incorporate a couple of midfielders and that would mean that he doesn’t have too many options to play.

The sports department don’t want the story of Riqui Puig or Aleñá to be repeated, who were ruling out going on loan, and lost opportunities to progress away from Barça until they ended up outside the club for good. With Pablo Torre everything will be done by consensus due to his age, but they are very clear that the RFEF first division is too small for him.

He trained at the Barça school in Buenos Aires and from there he went to Boca due to the agreement between the two clubs.
The sports area has followed him after his spectacular irruption in Argentina. Now it costs 20 million

Barça needs a good midfielder to replace Sergio Busquets and is analyzing the entire market to find the right player. Both Xavi Hernández and Jordi Cruyff believe that the best option is Zubimendi, from Real Sociedad, but in the sports area there are very good reports from various players.

One of them is Alan Varela, from Boca Júniors, a player who curiously grew in Barça dynamics until he succeeded in the xeneize club and for whom several European teams now sigh.

Varela’s history is closely linked to Barça. The Argentine midfielder was trained at the soccer school that the Blaugrana club has in the Buenos Aires area and from there he went to Boca Júniors through the agreement that the two entities had as a collaboration. Barça invested in the school, Boca could take soccer players and in return the Blaugrana club had priority in signing over the most outstanding soccer players from the Boca youth academy. Varela is the confirmation of the success of this formula.

Varela grew up playing the Barça style, with a clear idea about possession and grew up in the position of midfielder ahead of the defence. His adaptation was spectacular and Boca ended up capturing him to give him a field in the first team. He has established himself as the undisputed starter and is succeeding in the position of Sergio Busquets with absolute solvency. There are already several teams interested in signing him and the Argentines are asking for around 20 million euros for him. Rumors already place him at Benfica if, finally, Enzo Fernández is transferred to Liverpool by a million-dollar car.

At Barça they have excellent reports from their scouts and trainers in Argentina. And so they have communicated it to the sports area. And they understand that it is mature enough to make the leap to Europe with full guarantee. At the time, Barça already ruled out the signing of Enzo Fernández when he was tied for not investing 15 million and now there are doubts about Varela because of the risk of the operation.