Barcelona president Joan Laporta has declared that Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas plays Barca’s style of football and while he says most ‘cules’ admire the 22-year-old midfielder, they must show respect to his current employers.
Since establishing himself at Arsenal, Fabregas has constantly been linked with a return to the Catalan giants and the speculation looks set to continue heading into the winter transfer window with suggestions of a possible €50 million bid from Barca but Laporta insists they are not thinking about that at present.
“He [Fabregas] was formed at Barca, he has our style of play and the majority of ‘cules’ like him,” he declared, according to Spanish publication Sport.
“We must respect Arsenal and cannot comment. The market is not open and these matters are decided by the technical director [Txiki Begiristain] and now we are not thinking about it.” Read more…
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that Inter Milan made an audacious attempt to buy Argentina striker Lionel Messi during the summer.
Messi, who won the Champions League, Primera Liga and Copa del Rey treble last season is a leading contender to win the Ballon d’Or is one of Barcelona’s prized assets.
When asked if Internazionale president Massimo Moratti had expressed an interest in buying Messi, Laporta told Corriere dello Sport: “Yes he did.”
“But there is nothing to talk about. Messi is not for sale, he (Moratti) must forget about it.”
In September, Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona that will keep him at the European champions until 2016 and includes a massive €250 million buy-out clause.
After signing the contract the 22-year-old forward said: “I want to spend my entire career here, in Barcelona, if it’s possible. I would love to finish at Barcelona.” Read more…
Manuel Pellegrini offered his thoughts following Real Madrid’s elimination from the Copa del Rey.
“The crowd was mad when Lass was taken out. I understand because he was playing well, but I thought it was the best move for him. He has been playing a lot and he pushed himself to the limit. I thought it was in his best interest and that an injury was possible.”
“We try to work with two formulas. In the first half we tried to recover the ball with speed and retain possession. In the second we brought in Van der Vaart to try to change the tendency. We lacked mobility and football in attack. We did what we thought was best, but the first leg made it an uphill battle.”
“I knew the crowd wouldn’t like it when Lass came out. I think it is important that he doesn’t sustain any injury. I put the players and team before myself.” Read more…
Real Madrid have been shocked to the core by an excellent display from Segunda B neighbours Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey on one of the most embarrassing nights in Madrid’s distinguished footballing history.
It was a display of poise, attacking quality, hunger and a will to win from the heroic home side who secured the most memorable night in their 38 year history as a shambolic, disorganised Madrid looked like footballing minnows.
The first half well and truly belonged to the hosts, who dominated Real Madrid from start to finish and the three goal interval lead could have been more as the visitors looked more like the Segunda B side.
Sergio Mora, Ruben Sanz, and Borja all put Jerzy Dudek to the test before Alcorcon eventually took a deserved lead after just 15 minutes as Borja Gomez skipped past the challenge of Mali international Mahamadou Diarra before clipping the ball past the Polish stopper to send the home support into raptures.
Madrid tried to respond but Rafael Van der Vaart’s effort lacked conviction and minutes later the Galacticos were two behind. Dutch midfielder Royston Drenthe got caught out of position and Alvaro Arbeloa stuck out his foot to intercept a low cross from the right but managed only to send the ball into the top corner of the net past a hapless Dudek. Read more…
Ibrahimovic has shot to the top of the goal scorers’ ranking here in Spain and is tied with David Villa on seven goals. Messi, with six and Keita, with five, complete a list dominated by Barça players.
There’s plenty of competition to be the top scorer in the Spanish league. After eight matches there are already several contenders for the title of ‘pichichi’, or top scorer, and it’s clear that Barça will play an important part in this particular contest. At present Barça has three players in the top ten and is the only club to have more than one representative.
Ibra, number one
Thanks to his brace of goals against Zaragoza, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (a goal every 77 minutes) now heads the ranking of goal scorers with seven goals, tied with Valencia’s David Villa (a goal every 85 minutes). Leo Messi is in third place with six, the same as Pandiani (Osasuna). Read more…
Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to defy Real Madrid’s medical staff by returning to action early, declaring himself fit to play against Sporting Gijon this weekend.
The Portuguese star was expected to be out for at least another ten days, but he has insisted that he no longer feels any pain in his ankle.
After suffering a knock against Marseille in the Champions League, Ronaldo aggravated the problem while on international duty with Portugal last week and was told he would be sidelined for at least three weeks.
Several days of intense recuperation, the majority of which were spent in bathing pools at the club’s Valdebebas training complex, appear to have done the former Manchester United player good.
“The ankle does not hurt me and I think that I am ready to play,” he was quoted as saying by Marca.
According to the Spanish daily, he wanted to appear against Milan in midweek but was prevented from doing so by doctors. Coach Manuel Pellegrini is unlikely to risk him this weekend either. Read more…
Milan have announced the signing of Real Madrid striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
Earlier this morning Rossoneri general manager Adriano Galliani confirmed that an agreement had been reached with Real Madrid for the frontman, and the official confirmation has now arrived.
A statement on Milan’s official website reads:
“A.C. Milan communicate they have reached an agreement with Real Madrid for the purchase of striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
“The Dutch footballer will be subjected to the medical checks tomorrow, after which he will sign a contract which will keep him at the Rossoneri club until 30 June 2013.”
Goal.com understands that Huntelaar has signed a four-year contract with the San Siro club. The transfer fee Milan have paid Real Madrid is believed to be €15 million. Read more…
Real Madrid Director General and Presidential Aide, Jorge Valdano discussed the signing of Xabi Alonso last night on El Larguero of Spanish radio’s Cadena Ser.
We are very happy because we have completed the squad in the best way possible. It was very important that we sign Xabi Alonso. When I left Real Madrid during my last stint, Xabi wasa practically signed. Although it didn’t happen then, it did now, and we find ourselves with a much more mature Xabi.
Xabi will join the team immediately. On Wednesday he will have to speak to Pellegrini to see if he should travel with the team to Canada and the US. There will be time to present players once the tour is over. Read more…
Xabi Alonso has been subject to arguably the longest-running transfer saga of this summer, and after a long period of chasing the Liverpool midfielder, Real Madrid are reportedly set to match the poaching price placed on the player’s head.
Anfield officials met with the Galacticos executive director-general Jose Angel Sanchez before the Reds’ pre-season game against Espanyol, in order to put to rest the speculation surrounding the future of the pass-master.
The Liverpool Daily Post claims that the ‘White House’ is willing to match the €35 million asking price, and add a further €2.5m based on the performances put out by the Spaniard during the first two years of his time at the Bernabeu.
Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow spoke about the meeting between the officials of the two powerhouses, and outlined the story so far.
“This [meeting] has only served to put our positions on the table,” said Purslow. Read more…
