Thiago Alcantara

Seriously, you guys need to move on. I think the club actually made the correct decision in selling him.

Luftstalag14 said:

Assuming what Thiago said was what really happened. There is a good chance that he is lying.

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There's also a good chance that Tito lied about not knowing about the buyout clause thing. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that the club showed absolutely no interest in Thiago's future.

unknowngenius10 said:

Will he be making more money at Bayern than Barca? *check*

If Barca didn't have to offer him more playing time to persuade him to stay, then what would have taken to persuade him?
(knowing that Bayern had made him a better monetary offer as soon as last season was over)

You think he would have stayed if Barca sang lullabies to him? ( it's that what would have taken for him to feel appreciated?).
b.c ,according to him, he wasn't leaving for playing time.
How do you demonstrate a player that you appreciate him ( if he doesn't care about playing time?).
Do you buy them Roses and chocolates?

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Wow. Where did he say he didn't care about playing time? He talks about value and care, something that remains consistent with this entire saga. He wanted to play more and make a bigger impact but the club didn't care enough to give it to him. He wanted assurance that they had his back and would care if he left, but they didn't. He was undervalued and neglected in favor of the other, more merited midfielders and shown no trust or appreciation. He left to work under a manager that constantly cared about him and was crucial to his development, something anyone would love. Think of it this way: when asked about Thiago, Tito acted almost indifferent and showed little wish for him to stay, acknowledging little appreciation for him. Pep, on the other hand was definite in his desire for Thiago and said that he's the player he wants, he valued him immensely.

Don't act like the club did everything right, because as Indignado said they often go silent for players (Muniesa, Abidal, even Villa I believe). So in all of this, you whip out the assumption of money as the deciding factor for him to make him from a "traitor" to a "mercenary". You hold such an obvious agenda and strive to antagonize Thiago out of anything and everything, even when what he says clearly shows that on his side he did love the club and didn't just betray them out of selfishness or greed.

unknowngenius10 said:

Reminds me how Figo didn't feel appreciated either when he decided to leave ( even though he was loved by the fans, teammates and he was our captain ).

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I see what you mean, considering the passive board in both cases, however Figo's desire to leave was purely based on greed, whereas Thiago obviously wanted to feel more important by playing every game.

I think the logic was that Cesc is here and because so much effort was made in getting him they were willing to part with Thiago. They were both fighting for eachother's minutes (replacement for Xavi or Iniesta) and in a choice between the two players the board went with Cesc. The method of him leaving is common for Barca, when a player is about to leave we are uncommunicative and aloof.

I can understand that he left to work with Pep and that we didn't give him assurance that he was part of our plans, but the ''playing time'' thing is bullshit, he got plenty of playing time considering his age and that he is competing with three world class players. He got chances in big games too.

Hamzah said:

I think the logic was that Cesc is here and because so much effort was made in getting him they were willing to part with Thiago. They were both fighting for eachother's minutes (replacement for Xavi or Iniesta) and in a choice between the two players the board went with Cesc. The method of him leaving is common for Barca, when a player is about to leave we are uncommunicative and aloof.

I can understand that he left to work with Pep and that we didn't give him assurance that he was part of our plans, but the ''playing time'' thing is bullshit, he got plenty of playing time considering his age and that he is competing with three world class players. He got chances in big games too.

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He got enough playing time considering the fact that the players he was rotating with are some of the best midfielders in the world. Thiago was unlucky to be in a squad with THREE such high-profile players, all of whom play in his position. Now, considering the fact that he would definitely get more playing time in just about any other club in the world, then, going by that, no, he didn't get plenty of playing time. One of these is from Barca's perspective, the other is from Thiago's. If he wants the best for his career, he needs to think from his own perspective primarily.

Jds is a good example... he wants desperately to stay, but no one on the club does. Most fans don't either. I don't see anyone complaining about this, saying the club is pushing him away.

Tito said to fontas and jds that Barça is not a social club last summer. Fontas took the hint and left. Seeing Jds and Thiago are fairly close, I don't even know if this might also have affected him. And as Barça is not a social club, players have to care for themselves.

Double standards everywhere. If the club abandons a player who contributed to their success (hint hint), then, why of course, the club has a right to do what's best for them, financially and otherwise, FCB is not a charity institution. But if a player does what's best for him and his career, then he's a traitor who took everything from the club and gave nothing back.

If you're referring to David Villa then I'm not applying double standards. We treated the guy like shit and he worked so hard for us and was a successful signing. If we actually played him regularly after he was finally declared fit he would have found his form, he was still scoring goals with ease especially compared to Pedro and Alexis. In the end though we ruined him and it was for the best we get him off the wage bill.

As for Thiago, perhaps I was overreacting, as new information comes out I change my mind. I still think he was impatient though and if he stayed he could have succeeded here.

Stric said:

Double standards everywhere. If the club abandons a player who contributed to their success (hint hint), then, why of course, the club has a right to do what's best for them, financially and otherwise, FCB is not a charity institution. But if a player does what's best for him and his career, then he's a traitor who took everything from the club and gave nothing back.

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Abidal also a good example. Wanted to stay, was shipped out for "sporting" reasons.

Really? Do you have a reference for that? I would love to see where Tito and fontas that. Not calling you a liar just curious where it is. never heard it before.

ldb198 said:

Really? Do you have a reference for that? I would love to see where Tito and fontas that. Not calling you a liar just curious where it is. never heard it before.

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Yeah, really. he said that during a press conference. The video is still up on mundo deportivo. He says "esto no es un club social" at around 0:42

http://www.mundodeportivo.com/20120...-vilanova-rueda-prensa-barca_54341900390.html
http://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/tito-vilanova-abre-puerta-fontas-afellay-dos-santos-2191247

Flavia said:

He won't make more money at bayern, he took a paycut, like cesc did to join barça.

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That's not clear. If he was on € 3M at Barca and Bayern gave him € 5M instead of "normally" € 6M that's also a "pay cut" but effectively he's still earning more.

Ursegor said:

That's not clear. If he was on € 3M at Barca and Bayern gave him € 5M instead of "normally" € 6M that's also a "pay cut" but effectively he's still earning more.

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What I know it's that 4m of the 25m Barça got from him will be from his pocket. It's 20m from bayern, 1 from the friendly, and thiago with 4m.

Stric said:

There's also a good chance that Tito lied about not knowing about the buyout clause thing. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that the club showed absolutely no interest in Thiago's future.

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Again, the "fact" that the club didn't persuade him to stay is based on the assmuption that Thiago was telling the truth. So far only Thiago came out and said so (amid contradictions regarding whether he and ManU were ever in contact), we have not heard from our club as to what really happened.