Wonder how they pay £60mil to Leeds for Raphinha

No wonder Bayern are asking all of the money at once for Lewandoski

comment by peks - 1974 (U6618)
posted 21 minutes ago
comment by United we win (U19958)
posted 18 minutes ago
Barca will be fine as la liga can’t afford for them to collapse. I see a bailout happening at some point
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a bail out, from where ?
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Possibly from the government who allowed them to pay a lower tax rate than their competition for over 20 years?

you think the Spanish government will bail them out ?

but don't they own Real Madrid though ?

comment by Randomer (U5245)
posted 16 minutes ago
comment by peks - 1974 (U6618)
posted 21 minutes ago
comment by United we win (U19958)
posted 18 minutes ago
Barca will be fine as la liga can’t afford for them to collapse. I see a bailout happening at some point
----------------------------------------------------------------------
a bail out, from where ?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Possibly from the government who allowed them to pay a lower tax rate than their competition for over 20 years?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You do know they are a Catalan club not Real Madrid

comment by Franko Cantona 🏆 for ego only (U22187)
posted 15 minutes ago
comment by Randomer (U5245)
posted 16 minutes ago
comment by peks - 1974 (U6618)
posted 21 minutes ago
comment by United we win (U19958)
posted 18 minutes ago
Barca will be fine as la liga can’t afford for them to collapse. I see a bailout happening at some point
----------------------------------------------------------------------
a bail out, from where ?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Possibly from the government who allowed them to pay a lower tax rate than their competition for over 20 years?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You do know they are a Catalan club not Real Madrid
----------------------------------------------------------------------
they still got tax relief from the Spanish GVT along with RM and a couple of other LL clubs. As daft as it seems considering they are the beacon of Catalan pride.

What happens when you base your business model on tourism and shirt sales. La Liga and to a lesser extent the gov can’t let them fail else the duopoly and the attractiveness of tv rights hits everyone. Spain already a financial basket case.

i am so glad to hear this news. I was starting to worry the delay was due to incompetence by our new negotiating team. Thankfully it doesn't appear to be the case.

I still find it crazy how barca are still trying to do a power play with utd given the situation. I have always said the key in any negotiation is the other party knowing that you are prepared to walk away.

in football this is only possible when you have alternatives but the longer the saga continue the less alternatives we have. We need to give barca a clear deadline if we haven't already

to add to this, I have always found barcelona a nasty club despite their previous saint like portrayal

they often used nasty tactics to get players they are interested in to lower their transfer value below market value. Madrid on the other hand were always prepared to pay market or above market value for players they are interested in.

My spanish mates have always told me how cheap catalans are. And this is another example. Imagine trying to manufacture a situation so that you don't have to pay FDJ the money they owed him and risking the money the so desperately need in the process.

I don't get why United are so fixated on signing this guy. He doesn't want to leave, he seems to be on silly wages, and he's not even that amazing. There must be at least half a dozen midfielders you could sign who would do the same job or better with half the hassle.

comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 5 minutes ago
I don't get why United are so fixated on signing this guy. He doesn't want to leave, he seems to be on silly wages, and he's not even that amazing. There must be at least half a dozen midfielders you could sign who would do the same job or better with half the hassle.
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comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 5 minutes ago
I don't get why United are so fixated on signing this guy. He doesn't want to leave, he seems to be on silly wages, and he's not even that amazing. There must be at least half a dozen midfielders you could sign who would do the same job or better with half the hassle.
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The role he will play is one I personally believe is the most important for any top team. There are definitely better midfielders but not many that can play the role of dictating tempo as well and the fact the current manager has worked with him means the manager knows exactly what he is getting and how he will fit into his system hence the obsession

but I agree thereis a point we need to walk away before we are left making another fellaini type signing like we did when we pursued fabregas for too long

If all you want is someone that can dictate the tempo I have the perfect solution for you. Harry Winks - a snip at £30m.

Are the players not unionised in Spain? Could anything like this happen in the UK?

I was just reading that they owe FDJ £17m, Pique £30m and Busquets £15m. They must owe more to others. It’s staggering that has been allowed to happen with no penalties given to the club.

Unless we’re absolutely certain we can get this over the line, there has to be a point soon that we just say no thanks and move on to other targets. Is there no other midfielder in the world that plays a similar style to FDJ?

I really do want us to sign him, because he would have the best chance or succeeding in improving our midfield under our new manager, and he’s our top priority, but we can’t be left with no midfield signings it would be absolutely awful for the upcoming season.

comment by FFS Mike. (U1170)
posted 2 minutes ago
Unless we’re absolutely certain we can get this over the line, there has to be a point soon that we just say no thanks and move on to other targets. Is there no other midfielder in the world that plays a similar style to FDJ?

I really do want us to sign him, because he would have the best chance or succeeding in improving our midfield under our new manager, and he’s our top priority, but we can’t be left with no midfield signings it would be absolutely awful for the upcoming season.
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After reading the story the FDJ saga now makes sense. The utd negotiating team clearly believe they have done everything they need to do and its just a matter of time b4 barca does what they need to do to make the deal happen .

I suspect utd already have private assurance from fdj he wants to come. But reading the story it is now obvious why fdj would not do anythingpublicly to risk getting paid what he is owed by barca. And our negotiating team are underestimating how far and petty barca will stoop

Absolutely, and I imagine at the start of the negotiations the higher value they wanted us to pay (£75m/£80m I saw quoted) was basically them wanting us to foot the bill for what they owe FDJ. Fck them.

comment by Silver (U6112)
posted 6 hours, 4 minutes ago
What happens when you base your business model on tourism and shirt sales. La Liga and to a lesser extent the gov can’t let them fail else the duopoly and the attractiveness of tv rights hits everyone. Spain already a financial basket case.
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Spain, economically is no worse than the rest of the EU

La Liga is far more financially regulated than the Premier League

comment by Garner be a star (U13920)
posted 3 hours, 50 minutes ago
to add to this, I have always found barcelona a nasty club despite their previous saint like portrayal

they often used nasty tactics to get players they are interested in to lower their transfer value below market value. Madrid on the other hand were always prepared to pay market or above market value for players they are interested in.

My spanish mates have always told me how cheap catalans are. And this is another example. Imagine trying to manufacture a situation so that you don't have to pay FDJ the money they owed him and risking the money the so desperately need in the process.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
do you mean how cheap FC Barca are or do you really mean, Catalans. In general.

Hoping we have Neves' agent on speed dial if this all falls through.

Hes going to resign today according to the BBC.

Bye Bye Boris

wrong thread

Total money spent by clubs in the top 5 leagues in this transfer window so far.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League: €733m
🇮🇹 Serie A: €327m
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: €252m
🇫🇷 Ligue1: €195m
🇪🇸 La Liga: €136m

🇵🇹 Liga Portugal: €113m

Out of the €136m spent by La Liga clubs, Tchouaméni cost €80m.

La Liga getting rekt then

comment by TBW (U6489)
posted 19 minutes ago
La Liga getting rekt then
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being money conscious because of the relegations imposed by La Liga, and the budget they set for the clubs

in this state and trying to buy lewandowski, raphinha & de ligt

comment by TBW (U6489)
posted 25 minutes ago
La Liga getting rekt then
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and yet English clubs haven't won a European final against Spanish clubs for over 20 years....17 finals and counting

all that despite their huge financial advantage