Leo_Messi
New member
At last! At last, man! At last, Bartomeu is PUBLICLY talking about the wage structure and why players, in this case Alba, no matter how highly valued they are or important, cannot demand unlimited wages or unrealistic ones. There is a hierarchy at every club and it is no different when it comes to wages.
This should be a message to other players as well. Good to hear that they are aware of the situation. Once Messi, Suárez, Busquets and Piqué are gone, things should be run in another way. Less collegial feeling and more brute business even though we have not been such a club historically but given the professionalization of the club and what an enormous business the club has become in the past 15 years there is really no other alternative. So that change is inevitable, Bartomeu or no Bartomeu.
As good as Alba is and has been, in particular in recent seasons, he is not as important as the players who received contract extensions recently. Thinking about Messi and Suárez here.
He will turn 30 in a few weeks time. I don't agree, at all, with us "being fucked" should he leave. It would require buying the right successor and we could certainly afford doing that given Alba's market value. Not saying that we should sell him but if he insists on an outrageous contract extension, the club should do what they need to do.
Similarly with the 31 year old Rakitic.
Alba depends almost entirely on his pace. Once that is gone he won't even be recognizable anymore. I will give him 2-3 seasons (at most) on the highest level before an inevitable decline. Selling him this summer alongside Rakitic for an outrageous fee, might not be the worst business in the world provided that the board will replace him with the right substitute. Not saying that the likes of Junior Firpo or Ferland Mendy are guaranteed to work but I see no reason why they could not work. As good as Alba is, he is not a generational talent. I always rated Marcelo much higher but that is maybe unfair on Alba who is a great, great player on his own. No disrespect here.
This should be a message to other players as well. Good to hear that they are aware of the situation. Once Messi, Suárez, Busquets and Piqué are gone, things should be run in another way. Less collegial feeling and more brute business even though we have not been such a club historically but given the professionalization of the club and what an enormous business the club has become in the past 15 years there is really no other alternative. So that change is inevitable, Bartomeu or no Bartomeu.
As good as Alba is and has been, in particular in recent seasons, he is not as important as the players who received contract extensions recently. Thinking about Messi and Suárez here.
He will turn 30 in a few weeks time. I don't agree, at all, with us "being fucked" should he leave. It would require buying the right successor and we could certainly afford doing that given Alba's market value. Not saying that we should sell him but if he insists on an outrageous contract extension, the club should do what they need to do.
Similarly with the 31 year old Rakitic.
Alba depends almost entirely on his pace. Once that is gone he won't even be recognizable anymore. I will give him 2-3 seasons (at most) on the highest level before an inevitable decline. Selling him this summer alongside Rakitic for an outrageous fee, might not be the worst business in the world provided that the board will replace him with the right substitute. Not saying that the likes of Junior Firpo or Ferland Mendy are guaranteed to work but I see no reason why they could not work. As good as Alba is, he is not a generational talent. I always rated Marcelo much higher but that is maybe unfair on Alba who is a great, great player on his own. No disrespect here.
Last edited:
