Brilliant article from Martin Samuel
Arrogant Barca teach us nothing
Barcelona are once again proving to be more than a club. Right now, for instance, they are more a giant financial black hole and in such trouble they need to sell players to ease what Sandro Rosell, the new president, called a short-term liquidity problem.
Translation: they're skint. No wonder Barcelona's directors are so opposed to the collective agreement Premier League clubs in England reach on broadcast rights. If Barcelona were required to share their individually negotiated bounty with the other clubs in La Liga they would have fallen into the sea long ago.
Targeted: Cesc Fabregas is wanted by the Barcelona president
Rosell was forced to make his announcement concerning the parlous state of the finances on radio, admitting that Dmytro Chygrynskiy had been sold back to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine at a £10million loss just to ease the crisis. This from a club who have already cashed in on Yaya Toure to Manchester City for £24m (and doesn't that look another shrewd bit of business at Eastlands in the light of these revelations).
It would appear the previous administration overspent and now Rosell's administration is stuck with the bill. We know the feeling.
Things are so desperate that Rosell can barely afford the first-class fare to tap up Cesc Fabregas in the hope of forcing Arsenal to sell an unhappy player on the cheap.
'The Cesc situation is public knowledge so I'll try to talk to him when I go to South Africa,' said Rosell. 'Everyone knows he wants to come here and we want him back, but there are some things you cannot say until a deal is closed or you pay a premium. We will not pay £40m or £50m for Cesc.'
That should be no deal then. The arrogance of Barcelona is such, however, that, even without the money and a good £20m short of Arsenal's asking price, the president is still angling to open negotiations with a contracted player.
And this from a club whose much-vaunted morality is used to beat up our Premier League on an almost weekly basis? This is the business model to which we should aspire? These are the people who presume to lecture on ethics?
Welcome to the Potless Millionaires Club, Barcelona. Now shut up.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cr...like-Pixie-Geldof-Lib-Dems.html#ixzz0t14xTGh2
