FC Barcelona Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

8-10 · 23-07-2009 01:00PM

fillmore jive wrote: »

Sky Sports have just reported that Keirrison has just signed for €14 million!

Jesus. Now there's value for money. Why wasn't Rafa on that???

Glico Man · 23-07-2009 02:22PM

Isn't he gonna be loaned out though?

MisterAnarchy · 23-07-2009 02:33PM

Seems Eto has agreed terms with Inter.
Why in Gods name would he want to leave Barca ,the man needs his head examined.
Barca is getting fleeced here.
Eto is only 28 and at his prime.
He is a better fit for the Barca attack ,a spearhead to Mesi and Henry's foil.
I think Barca have lost the plot paying 45m extra for Ibrahimovich who while being a good skillful player just isnt clinical enough in my opinion.

gimmick · 23-07-2009 02:38PM

Eto'o, by all accounts, is a very disruptive dressing room influence and is not all that popular with his team mates. Pep Guardiola himself reckons that moving Eto'o out would give the team a fresh new dimension.

While Eto'os scoring reckon is impeccable, he looked quite wasteful in the latter third of the perfect season, really only shining in the CL final. He probably needsa new challenge for himself as well.

Plus, we have got to assume that maybe, just maybe, Pep Guardiola knows exactly what he is doing. Afterall, he has done nothing wrong yet has he?

MisterAnarchy · 23-07-2009 02:45PM

gimmick wrote: »

Eto'o, by all accounts, is a very disruptive dressing room influence and is not all that popular with his team mates. Pep Guardiola himself reckons that moving Eto'o out would give the team a fresh new dimension.

While Eto'os scoring reckon is impeccable, he looked quite wasteful in the latter third of the perfect season, really only shining in the CL final. He probably needsa new challenge for himself as well.

Plus, we have got to assume that maybe, just maybe, Pep Guardiola knows exactly what he is doing. Afterall, he has done nothing wrong yet has he?

I'm not questioning Eto leaving the club,that has been on the cards along time,he has come to the end of the line there.

However swapping him and Hleb plus 45m for Ibrahimovich is farcical.
Barca need an out and out striker ,someone who will hang around the box and put the ball in the net.
They already have enough players that can dribble with the ball and play in a deep attacking role.
Ibrahimovich will clog things up in the middle,he drops too deep too often.
Its a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.
45m ??? WTF,they could have bough David Villa for that alone ,a tried and trusted goal scorer in La Liga .
Crazy deal.

gimmick · 23-07-2009 02:46PM

Ya, the money sounds a bit outrageous. Maybe Barca are giving Inter money to take Hleb away for a while?

They already have enough players that can dribble with the ball and play in a deep attacking role.
Ibrahimovich will clog things up in the middle,he drops too deep too often.

As above, we have got to assume Pep knows better than you or I.

Mitch Connor · 23-07-2009 02:49PM

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Barca need an out and out striker ,someone who will hang around the box and put the ball in the net.

I disagree - one of the things that made barca so fearsome to play last season is the fact that all their players (including Eto'o) offered such great movement, having one player hang around one area (no matter how important that area is) would reduce the space the other players like Messi, Henry and Iniesta can move into.

Quint · 23-07-2009 02:57PM

gimmick wrote: »

Eto'o, by all accounts, is a very disruptive dressing room influence and is not all that popular with his team mates. Pep Guardiola himself reckons that moving Eto'o out would give the team a fresh new dimension.

But replacing him with the second biggest ego in world football?

MisterAnarchy · 23-07-2009 03:01PM

Mitch Connor wrote: »

I disagree - one of the things that made barca so fearsome to play last season is the fact that all their players (including Eto'o) offered such great movement, having one player hang around one area (no matter how important that area is) would reduce the space the other players like Messi, Henry and Iniesta can move into.

Up to a point,Eto was still the point of attack for most of the season.
I dont think Ibrahimovich is capable of doing that,plus he is a lazy sod.

eZe^ · 25-07-2009 01:10PM

In my eyes the only bad thing about this Ibrahimovic deal is the fact that the price is so inflated, but we have all seen what Real have done to the market and if we held out another season on selling Eto'o he would have left on a free. Eto'o is obviously a proven goal scorer, but he is a VERY VERY streaky player. In that he will score 7 goals in 4 games and then go another 5 without scoring again. That means his record looks excellent, when infact he is very very wasteful infront of goal for long periods of a season. (From February until May this year being an example)

Ibrahimovic is a class act, no matter how you look at it. He seems to be the perfect striker that Guardiola was looking for. Pep wants a tall dominant striker that is also capable of being skillful enough to fit in with Barca's regime. That's why he was after Adebayor and Drogba last year, but got neither because Eto'o stayed. Now he has a player superior to both, albeit for about 70 million euros. Ibrahimovic is an absolute monster, he is dominant in the air, but can also hustle the biggest and strongest of defenders. He is also probably the most naturally gifted footballer of the past decade behind Ronaldinho, Messi and Zidane. His skill and intelligence means he SHOULD be able to fit in with this Barca squad, and finally we'll have a player that can take advantage of Alves' and Xavi's crosses (bar Messi obv, CL being the moment I'm remembering :pac:;) ).

Ibrahimovic's ego is different to Eto'os, Eto'o is genuinely egotistical in that he will gladly disrupt a dressing room in order for his voice to be heard, whereas Ibrahimovic is quite mocking and joking with the media- like Jose Mourinho. Zlatan is taking a pay CUT to join Barca, whereas Eto'o was refusing to move unless they gave him a pay increase. That sums their difference in egos up for me... I really do wonder how Inter will cope now that their main creative force is gone, Eto scores loads, but only if the midfield supplies the balls, Zlatan is capable of creating something from nothing...

The only problem with the big man is his choking in the CL K.O stages, for anyone to say otherwise is being blind and biased. Ibrahimovic is alot of things, but he has consistently failed to score in KO rounds of the CL. He has played well on a number of occasions (Man Utd, Madrid). I'm just hoping that this is down to the Inter team not being able to cope as a whole with the best teams outside of Italy, as that's who you face in the KO rounds. I'm hoping that with service from the likes of Xavi, Alves, Iniesta and Messi that he can prove everyone wrong, and rightfully be spoke of in the same breaths as Eto'o, Villa and Torres.

Finally, it's only right to say goodbye to Eto'o, he has been an absolutely fantastic acquisition and asset to the club. One of our best strikers of all time, proving that with his two CL medals and two goals in the finals. He was adored by fans for being an ex Madrid player and rubbing it in their faces when we won the league - 'Madrid, cabron, salud el campeon'... Samu's brutal honesty was sometimes his downfall, he is a big disruption in the dressing room, and he is also the most greedy player I've ever witnessed when it comes to wages... Overall though, he is a club legend, and I hope he absolutely tears it up in Serie A, and scored at least 20 goals. Best of luck buddy!

Another thing worth mentioning with Barca this season is how excellent their other deals have been. Sure we are paying about 25 million too much for Ibrahimovic, but Maxwell is worth 10 imo, and Keirrison is also an absolute steal. When we sign Chygrynskiy and a cheap enough DMF we will have completed our squad really, no weaknesses anywhere...

Ibrahimovic

Henry

Messi

Xavi

Iniesta

Toure

---Maxwell

Pique

Puyol

Alves

Valdes

Then their is -

Abidal, Marquez, Milito, Henrique, Chygrynskiy as defensive cover.

Busquets, Keita, Hleb, Gudjohnsen, and another signing as midfield cover.

Keirrison, Bojan, Pedro, as forward cover, plus a few more Barca-Athletic players as cover all over...

That looks a pretty strong team for the upcoming season really.

dor83 · 25-07-2009 01:52PM

eZe^ wrote: »

Zlatan is taking a pay CUT to join Barca, whereas Eto'o was refusing to move unless they gave him a pay increase. That sums their difference in egos up for me...

That isn't really how it's working, the tax situation means that even though he will be getting less before tax he will not be losing any money after tax. The opposite is also true for Eto'o to, although I don't know if there is a difference in his after tax pay but Ibra will not be losing money by moving.

eZe^ wrote: »

I really do wonder how Inter will cope now that their main creative force is gone, Eto scores loads, but only if the midfield supplies the balls, Zlatan is capable of creating something from nothing...

I'm not overly confident that we will cope without him, he has been our best and most important player since he joined. Mourinho will most likely try to change the style now, like he tried to last year but it didn't suit the players we had then.

eZe^ wrote: »

I'm just hoping that this is down to the Inter team not being able to cope as a whole with the best teams outside of Italy, as that's who you face in the KO rounds.

IMO, his perceived failure in the CL is down to the team he had around him, he gets absolutely no support from the rest of the team in most games and is expected to do it all himself and imo there is no player in the world who could do what he did for us. I think he is a great signing for Barca and, as you said, with their other signings they have done very well this summer. I hope Ibra does very well there and can see him winning a lot of trophies there.

Third_Echelon · 25-07-2009 02:02PM

I'm sorry, but ibrahimovic is half the player Eto'o is.. The deal should be the other way around... 40 million plus ibra for Eto'o.

Ibra doesn't do it in the big games when it counts. Any half decent striker can score goals against the lower teams in a league.

He's lazy and frankly not worth the money. A step backwards for Barca in my opinion...

eZe^ · 25-07-2009 02:04PM

dor83 wrote: »

That isn't really how it's working, the tax situation means that even though he will be getting less before tax he will not be losing any money after tax. The opposite is also true for Eto'o to, although I don't know if there is a difference in his after tax pay but Ibra will not be losing money by moving.

Oh of course, but Eto'o was demanding 5 million euros from Laporta before he would agree to leave, I've never come across a player so hungry for money, he was close to playing for 6 months in Uzbekistan last year just because he would have pocketed millions...

Ibrahimovic has won Serie A every year he has played in it (I'm ignoring Calciopoli) - Has any player in any of the top 3 leagues won 5 of their last 5 league titles?

Third_Echelon wrote: »

I'm sorry, but ibrahimovic is half the player Eto'o is.. The deal should be the other way around... 40 million plus ibra for Eto'o.

Ibra doesn't do it in the big games when it counts. Any half decent striker can score goals against the lower teams in a league.

He's lazy and frankly not worth the money. A step backwards for Barca in my opinion...

I don't think you understand... Even if you put aside your perceived opinions on their talents and look at this from a purely economic point of view. Eto'o is a commodity that Barca want to get rid of, he has one year left on his contract and Guardiola never wanted him in the squad, so straight away when you sell something you really don't want, you will not be getting the true value for the product. Now take Ibrahimovic, he is Inter's most valuable asset, and they DO NOT want to sell him, unless they get an offer they cant refuse (or at least one that they believe is worth more than their own valuation of the player). So when you factor in how Real have inflated the transfer market, and the above economics of both players, there was no way that the Ibra and Eto'o deal would go any other way. It's just a shame that they are getting an extra 40 million instead of 20-25... (But that, imo, is Reals fault)

eZe^ · 26-07-2009 06:36PM

I'm giggling with excitement tbh... Gutted Eto'o is going, but the potential of Barca's team for next year is excellent, we should put in a good CL and Liga title shout. Interesting statistic too, Rivaldo and Eto'o have both scored 130 goals officially for the club, that's a pretty awesome feat for Rivaldo, who was primarily used as a winger... What a player he was.

gimmick · 26-07-2009 07:23PM

Wonder what number he will be given and what name on the shirt - Zlatan, Ibra, Ibrahimovic?

As I have stated already, I know nothing about him as I never watch Italian football. He has a lot to live up to as the fee is astonomical - must be worth €70m maybe?

eirebhoy · 26-07-2009 07:41PM

You would have seen him at a world cup, euro's, CL, no?

Bubs101 · 26-07-2009 07:44PM

Third_Echelon wrote: »

Ibra doesn't do it in the big games when it counts. Any half decent striker can score goals against the lower teams in a league.

He didn't do it against Liverpool. I don't know what game people were watching this year against Man Utd in the 0-0 draw. Ibra was fantastic but he was too selfless. He gave Adriano two golden opportunities, both of which he spurned. Messi and Henry won't be so generous

gimmick · 26-07-2009 07:47PM

eirebhoy wrote: »

You would have seen him at a world cup, euro's, CL, no?

Not enough to form a definitive opinion one way or other tbh.

eZe^ · 26-07-2009 08:10PM

gimmick wrote: »

Not enough to form a definitive opinion one way or other tbh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukpcB3RLVnc

Eire-Dearg · 26-07-2009 08:12PM

What is the final fee in the Ibra/Eto'o deal, anyone?

eZe^ · 26-07-2009 08:16PM

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

What is the final fee in the Ibra/Eto'o deal, anyone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lliA2Av8dd8

ShoulderChip · 26-07-2009 08:17PM

He's a top top guy, one of my favourites,

mostly because I have double jointed knees like him and always try the shot he did for the third goal in that video, the one adriano assisted.

Also Maicon sure gave him a lot of assists.

eZe^ · 26-07-2009 08:21PM

ShoulderChip wrote: »

Also Maicon sure gave him a lot of assists.

Well then won't he be delighted that he'll have Alves, Maxwell, Xavi, Iniesta, Henry and Messi setting him up this year..

gimmick · 27-07-2009 07:59PM

Kissing the crest or sneezing in it??

eZe^ · 27-07-2009 08:10PM

I have a few doubts about you Ibra, but fcuk it, you're a Barca player now, time to hype you up like there is no tomorrow!!!

IBRAHIMOVIC, BEST STRIKER IN WORLD FOOTBALL RIGHT NOW!!!

I predict he'll nutmeg Torres and Gerard in the same move before scoring the goal to knock Liverpool out of the CL semi-final... Then we'll go on to beat Madrid in their own back yard... :pac:;):D

missingtime · 27-07-2009 08:52PM

gimmick wrote: »

Kissing the crest or sneezing in it??

He's got swine flu.

dor83 · 27-07-2009 09:33PM

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

What is the final fee in the Ibra/Eto'o deal, anyone?

I posted this in the other thread too:

Barca's vice-president confirmed and explained the reasons for the price.

Barcelona's financial vice-president, Joan Boix, has revealed that any figure for Samuel Eto'o above the €4.5 million mark would have generated income for Catalan club.

Boix, who noted that Barcelona valued the Cameroonian striker at €20 million, revealed that the main difference between Ibrahimovic and Eto'o is the length of their respective contracts with Inter and Barcelona.

"Eto'o had one year on his contract and 'Ibra' had five," he told the Spanish press at Ibrahimovic's press conference. "Qualitatively, we can say that they are alike, but Eto'o, in a year, would cost nothing.

"For that I think we valued Eto'o above what he was worth."

The financial vice-president said that Barcelona will pay Inter Milan €43.25 million for Ibrahimovic, a transfer the Spanish club value at €66 million.

Boix confirmed that Aliaksandr Hleb will join Inter Milan on loan and that Barcelona will pay 70 per cent of the Belarusian's wages.

Meanwhile, a medical examination underwent by Ibrahimovic at Barcelona revealed the player has a broken hand, an injury suffered in a friendly against Chelsea. However, it will not put the deal in jeopardy.

Barcelona doctor Ricard Pruna says that the club are "studying" the best way for the Sweden international to recover so that he can "compete as soon as possible."

Add to this the fact that Barca wanted to sell and Inter didn't an it explains why they paid so much. IMO there is too much fuss about the price, it's around the same price as Real paid for Kaka and Ibra has been better in the same league for two seasons now.

eZe^ · 27-07-2009 09:37PM

I'm usually 100% against badge kissing, as it's just a horrible way of trying to win fans over when you move to a new club, but it's interesting to see that he NEVER kissed the badge of Malmo, his childhood club, Ajax, Juve or Inter. It does seem that he truly is in love with Barca, which is nice to see...

D.S. · 27-07-2009 09:39PM

dor83 wrote: »

I posted this in the other thread too:

Barca's vice-president confirmed and explained the reasons for the price.Add to this the fact that Barca wanted to sell and Inter didn't an it explains why they paid so much. IMO there is too much fuss about the price, it's around the same price as Real paid for Kaka and Ibra has been better in the same league for two seasons now.

A good player but in no way is he worth 43.5m and ETO. Just madness. 43.5m on his own and I would of thought he was expensive. It's a crazy deal. He's 28 in October also...

Inter have done incredibly well out of this deal. They got over 40m in the bank now, plus Eto, a player who will score a rake of goals and is more than an adequate replacement, plus they get to take a punt on Hleb and only have to pay 70% of his wages...best piece of business I have seen done in a long long long time..

eZe^ · 27-07-2009 09:43PM

The way I look at it is, Ibrahimovic is in the same skill category as Kaka, Xavi, and Gerrard, he is worth about 50 million euros, so Barca overspent about 15 million on him max, which isn't that ludicrous tbh...

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