Tag Archives: Barca

Barca will land Cesc – Laporta

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Arsenal are a 6/1 chance to win the Premier League title – but they will have to do it without Cesc Fabregas, according to outgoing Barcelona president Juan Laporta.

The Gunners are hanging on to the Spain midfielder with their fingernails as Barca step up their pursuit of the player and Laporta says it is only a matter of time before they land their man.

The words of Laporta are sure to infuriate Gunners officials but you cannot help but agree with him because Fabregas has made his mind up that he wants to return to his former club and player power usually wins day.

No matter how hard Arsenal fight to keep hold if Fabregas sticks by his guns and asks to leave a deal is more than likely to go through if the price is right.

Agreeing a fee could be easier said than done. Barca are already thought to have failed with one bid in the region of £29million and Arsenal will probably want closer to double that if they are to sell.

They will say Cristiano Ronaldo went to Real Madrid for £80million last summer and Fabregas is worth £60million, but Barca will argue they are completely different players and are unlikely to go that high.

Fabregas has always maintained how happy he is at the Emirates Stadium and it is hard to see him kicking up a fuss but if Arsenal block the move over the fee they could have an unhappy player on their hands which will no good to anybody.

Either way Laporta says it is only a matter of time before they land their man and believes it will happen this summer, eventually.

“Arsenal will end up giving in, but I don’t know when that will be. We will have to wait and let the professionals who are taking care of it do their work,” he revealed.

Laporta is set to leave office at the end of the month but if he cannot wrap up a deal in that time, he believes his replacement Sandro Rosell will.

“If it’s not us, it will be up to the new board, if they consider if appropriate, to carry on along this road,” he added.

Arsenal now have some tough decisions to make but nothing will be sorted until after the World Cup. However the time Fabregas is spending with Spain will not help matters as the Barcelona players will no doubt be in his ear everyday urging him to return to the Nou Camp and that looks the most likely outcome.

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Barca confirm Cesc offer

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Cesc Fabregas moved a step closer to realising his dream of re-joining Barcelona on Wednesday when it was revealed the Spanish champions have entered into formal talks with Arsenal (6/1 with totesport to win the 2010/11 Premier League).

The Spain midfielder has openly expressed a desire to return to the club he left as a 16-year-old in 2003 and is understood to have told manager Arsene Wenger he wants to move back to his homeland.

“An informal conversation with Arsenal became formal on 1 June and now an official approach has been made to the club,” said a Barca spokesman.

The Catalan giants have long held an interest in Fabregas, who is currently with Spain’s World Cup squad, and have now registered a formal offer for the 23-year-old.

The Barca spokesman added on BBC Sport: “Before 1 June, under English rules, we could not make an official approach to Arsenal for Fabregas, but that changed on Tuesday.

“I don’t think there is a special advance on, say, the price or anything, but it has moved on now.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Xavi insisted he was now “certain” his Spain (21/10 to be Europe’s top team at the World Cup) team-mate would leave north London for the Nou Camp.

“It had to be like this,” said Xavi. “Two years ago, I said Cesc would end up playing for Barcelona, and now it is clearer than ever.

“He has also expressed publicly that he wants to come to Barcelona and when a player wants to move to some place he ends up going. It is clear that Cesc will come to Barcelona.”

Fabregas signed an eight-year contract with the Gunners in 2006 but has made no secret of his desire to play for Barcelona.

Barca director general Joan Oliver revealed on the club’s official website: “Everyone knows that Cesc wants to play with Barca and everyone knows we want him to sign but here there is a third actor that is Arsenal.

“Yesterday [Tuesday] we presented a concrete offer and have written to Arsenal.”

The vice-president of the Catalan club, Rafael Yuste, added: “We are hoping we can sign Cesc as soon as possible.

“I am optimistic. It is clear that he is family and we would greet his return with a warm embrace. For this reason we don’t want to do anything that would harm his signing. We don’t want to rush but neither will we stop.”

Fabregas would become Barca’s second major signing of the summer following the capture of Spain team-mate David Villa for £34m from Valencia.

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No contact from Barca – Gunners

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Arsenal have claimed Barcelona have not been in touch about the potential signing of the Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal 6/1 to win the Premier League outright).

The Gunners chairman Peter Hill-Wood has stated that he has heard nothing from Barcelona concerning their coveted player.

Barca have won La Liga this year and have already looked to strengthen their side for next season with the signing of Valencia striker David Villa.

Fabregas has stated that he would like to move to Barca at some point in his career and speculation has increased as to whether he may move in the summer before he flies to the World Cup in South Africa with the Spanish national team (Spain 4/1 to win the World Cup outright).

“You see your Spanish team-mates succeeding here at Barcelona and it is exciting because you have worked alongside them for so long,” said Fabregas.

“I think I would like to go to Barcelona, whether or not they want me is another thing.”

The Catalan club have clearly shown interest in the 23-year-old, who started his career in Barcelona’s academy.

Spanish team-mate and current Barca star Xavi has stated that he would love to play alongside the Arsenal player at club level.

He said: “It is criminal for a player of Cesc’s quality not to be winning the biggest prizes in football.

“He really has no choice but to leave. He is making the right decision and I hope Arsenal fans wish him well.”

The Spanish giants sporting director Txiki Begiristain has stated that the club will respect the current contract Fabregas has at Arsenal.

Begiristain has described the young midfielder as a “Barca (style) player” but admits that the player, who is key to future success at Arsenal, will be difficult to prise away from the London club.

Arsenal have gone yet another season without any silverware and manager Arsene Wenger is looking to bring in new faces whilst trying to hold on to his star players.

The Gunners boss has stated that conceding 40 goals last season was the reason his side could not win the Premier League title and that he is looking to sign one or two defensive players over the summer.

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Messi & Xavi Offer Barca Straight Forward Win

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messi barca football shirt 300x271 Messi & Xavi Offer Barca Straight Forward WinLeo Messi and Xavi turned in star performances on Saturday night to claim a 4-1 win against Villareal in what looked like being a tricky fixture for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Villareal did indeed pose a threat early on with Brazilian Nilmar missing two great chances after some excellent individual skill but the truth was that Barcelona were simply too good.

As soon as Messi registered the first goal the confidence grew and Villareal were helpless against the individual quality on show in the Barcelona shirt. Xavi scored a magnificent free-kick from 30 yards out to make it 2-0 and put Barcelona on their way to an important three points in the quest for La Liga success.

Now Barcelona must take another step towards winning the league title with what should be a straight forward win at the Nou Camp against relegation threatened Tenerife tonight.

Tenerife earned themselves a life line at the weekend with a 2-1 win at home against fellow relegation fodder Racing Santander. The victory has taken them to just two points behind the three sides immediately above them. They certainly have something to play for when they travel to Camp Nou.

As far as Barcelona are concerned, they will be delighted to be playing a side they have managed to score 13 goals past – without reply – in the last three meetings. Back in October Barcelona routed Tenerife 5-0 with Messi grabbing a hat-trick. A similar score line could be on the cards this time round too.

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  3. Barca Edge El Clasico To Regain Top Spot


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Pep puts the squeeze on Barca

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Pep Guardiola will tell his Barcelona players they must not hold back when they look to overturn a 3-1 deficit in the Champions League semi-finals against Internazionale on Wednesday (2/5 Barcelona 18/5 draw 13/2 Internazionale – match betting).

The holders require at least a repeat of the 2-0 victory they inflicted on the Nerazzurri in the group stages in November if they are to reach the home of bitter rivals Real Madrid, the Santiago Bernabeu, for the final of Europe’s premier club competition on May 22 (11/10 Barcelona – To Qualify).

There, they will meet the winners of the other semi-final second-leg clash between Lyon and Bayern Munich.

The decider comes in the middle of a potentially-pivotal week for Barca, culminating in an awkward away trip to Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday.

The Spanish champions got the result they needed on Saturday when they defeated nine-man Xerez 3-1 and remain one point clear of nearest-challengers Real.

Guardiola was able to name a makeshift side, with Lionel Messi and Pedro both starting on the bench, and goals from Jeffren Suarez, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic did the damage.

He must now focus his efforts on recovering from his heaviest defeat in Europe since taking charge at the Nou Camp to deny Jose Mourinho his second final appearance having guided FC Porto to victory in 2004.

Goals from Wesley Sneijder, Maicon and Diego Milito secured the Serie A title-chasers a deserved win in Milan last week and Mourinho is convinced Inter have finally arrived on the big stage.

A five-game winning streak in the knockout stage would back up that theory and the Portuguese coach has spoken of his “dream” of securing Inter a place in the final of Europe’s marquee club competition for the first time in 38 years.

Guardiola recognises that Barca must get on the front foot if they are to end the journey for Inter and has demanded his players go for the jugular.

“We need to settle it as quickly as possible,” said Guardiola.

He added: “The game needs that. We can’t sit back and see what happens while the minutes are ticking by. We have lots of goals to cancel out.”

Barca will once again be without midfielder Andres Iniesta, who has a torn right thigh muscle, as well as the banned Carles Puyol.

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Pep promises Barca response

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Barcelona players joined forces on Tuesday to insist their Champions League dream was still alive in response to a 3-1 first-leg defeat by Internazionale in Milan (11/10 Barcelona – To Qualify).

Barca’s hopes of becoming the first club side to successfully defend the trophy belonging to Europe’s premier club competition were dealt a potentially-damaging blow on a night to savour for the Nerazzurri.

Too many of Pep Guardiola’s star-studded squad – including red-hot Argentina international Lionel Messi and former Inter favourite Zlatan Ibrahimovic – had off-nights off the back of an arduous 14-hour coach trip, forced by the travel chaos resulting from the volcanic ash cloud, to reach Italy.

The holders appeared to be in the box seat when they snatched a priceless away goal courtesy of a sublime finish by Pedro on 19 minutes.

But the Catalan giants failed to build on their advantage and goals from Wesley Sneijder, Maicon and Diego Milito secured a sixth consecutive Champions League victory for Jose Mourinho’s side.

Full-back Daniel Alves bemoaned: “We made mistakes when they had chances. It was a fiercely fought contest but we deserved a little more.”

The Brazilian added: “Complaining is for losers and we’re not losers.”

Barca skipper Carles Puyol, who will miss the return leg because of a suspension, added: “It’s a bad result. Let’s hope the Camp Nou helps us turn the tie around.”

Pedro said: “It’s good to score an away goal. We’ll give it 100% in the 90 minutes left in front of our own fans.”

Pep Guardiola suffered the unwanted record of falling to his heaviest defeat in Europe since taking charge at the Nou Camp but said he had every confidence his players could overturn the deficit (4/9 Barcelona 11/4 draw 11/2 Inter Milan – match betting).

“It is never good to lose by more than one goal, but it is the first time in the Champions League since I was in charge of Barcelona; the first time it has happened to us in 19 months,” he said.

“But we are convinced that we can turn the tie around.”

Guardiola must now rally his troops for Saturday’s La Liga clash at home against Xerex in the knowledge that bitter rivals Real Madrid are breathing down their necks.

The Nou Camp boss said he would take stock before analysing what went wrong against Inter and promised Messi would have a big say in Barca’s attempt to reach the final at the Bernabeu on May 22.

“We’ll invite you to Barcelona and then you will see the real Messi,” said Guardiola. “Our fans will get behind us and we can do it.”

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