Trincao (on loan)

[serghei]

True and added physicality was maybe reason why we did better with younger players last season. These old guys are just finished physically AND mentally.

At least Emerson can raise our biggest weakness, physicality and speed. It's simply too slow/weak right now. That's why I almost prefer Emerson over Dest. More power.

I am afraid of the same thing...

Koeman will start this:

Aguero
Coutinho-Depay-Messi

LOL

For sure, we should put everything on Messi, Griezmann, Depay, Fati, and surround these players who CAN make a difference with hard-working gritty good players who don't clown around. The team didn't have issues last year scoring and creating chances. If Messi stays we'll score plenty next season.

They had issues clowning around in defense, with likes of Umtiti, Pique, Lenglet, and Stegen being terrible week in week out almost. The only good thing Pique did after he came back was scoring that goal vs Sevilla.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

For sure, we should put everything on Messi, Griezmann, Depay, Fati, and surround these players who CAN make a difference with hard-working gritty good players who don't clown around. The team didn't have issues last year scoring and creating chances. If Messi stays we'll score plenty next season.

They had issues clowning around in defense, with likes of Umtiti, Pique, Lenglet, and Stegen being terrible week in week out almost. The only good thing Pique did after he came back was scoring that goal vs Sevilla.

Totally forgot Griezmann. He should be starter. He adds work rate and grittiness.

Coutinho is not needed at all. We need to sell him.

Depay and Fati should fight for playing time.

Yep, way too many clowns in our team last season.

 

[DonAK]

Totally forgot Griezmann. He should be starter. He adds work rate and grittiness.

Coutinho is not needed at all. We need to sell him.

Depay and Fati should fight for playing time.

Yep, way too many clowns in our team last season.

Griezmann is pretty much useless for us unless he starts in Messi?s position and Griezmann for Messi is such a downgrade that I dont even want to think about it.....If possible I would be trying to offload him and his 36m salary. Maybe sign another winger. Just too much money to pay for someone who doesnt make the impact he was brought for. Unfair or not. Just how it is for me.

Ansu should be the starter 100%.

 

[Porque]

Should have been loaned last year.

Still, were moving the pawns to keep the King's.

Reducing the Catalans contracts and extending them is just extending the problems.

The elephant in the room is that we need to forget about Messi. Our team will be worse without him obviously, and still not amazing with him.

I don't think he is going to benefit the marketibility of a losing team.

 

[DonAK]

Should have been loaned last year.

Still, were moving the pawns to keep the King's.

Reducing the Catalans contracts and extending them is just extending the problems.

The elephant in the room is that we need to forget about Messi. Our team will be worse without him obviously, and still not amazing with him.

I don't think he is going to benefit the marketibility of a losing team.

Even if we move on from Messi we need to make considerable cuts just to fit in the likes of Memphis, Eric Garcia, Emerson and Aguero into the La Liga Salary Cap to register them for the competition.

Might as well make some more cuts and fit in Messi too.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Griezmann is pretty much useless for us unless he starts in Messi?s position and Griezmann for Messi is such a downgrade that I dont even want to think about it.....If possible I would be trying to offload him and his 36m salary. Maybe sign another winger. Just too much money to pay for someone who doesnt make the impact he was brought for. Unfair or not. Just how it is for me.

Ansu should be the starter 100%.

Sadly Griezmann is one player we have who has quality but like you said, we don't really need him. Same as Coutinho.

 

[Porque]

Even if we move on from Messi we need to make considerable cuts just to fit in the likes of Memphis, Eric Garcia, Emerson and Aguero into the La Liga Salary Cap to register them for the competition.

Might as well make some more cuts and fit in Messi too.

Is this fact though? Messi salary is 160m ish per season. How can we completely drop that and still need cuts.

If that is true then covid and LaLiga salary cap are truly a murderous mix and Tebas should review the salary cap, as club turnovers will/should increase over this season as the country opens up.

I've read that if Madrid lose Varane they won't even get a replacement.

If that's not a sign of the austerity of the whole league then I don't know what is.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Is this fact though? Messi salary is 160m ish per season. How can we completely drop that and still need cuts.

If that is true then covid and LaLiga salary cap are truly a murderous mix and Tebas should review the salary cap, as club turnovers will/should increase over this season as the country opens up.

I've read that if Madrid lose Varane they won't even get a replacement.

If that's not a sign of the austerity of the whole league then I don't know what is.

You are correct man.. not sure what Tebas gains from this. He should help the teams and this is not normal environment. The same rules can't apply.

Real and Barca becoming weak won't help Spain league at all. Even less spectators.

 

[Joan]

Came out of the blue this one.

Perhaps there are other such deals outgoing, and possibly incoming they are working on quietly....

Goes to show almost no journalist has real connections within the new board as of yet.

 

[xxxxxx]

You are correct man.. not sure what Tebas gains from this. He should help the teams and this is not normal environment. The same rules can't apply.

Real and Barca becoming weak won't help Spain league at all. Even less spectators.

The thing is.... even the average Barcelona and Madrid sides will generate a lot of interest, simply because they have so many supporters around the world. They may not be the best teams they've ever had, but the supporters will still watch them and spend a shit load of money on their merch, matchday tickets and whatnot.

Big players have come and gone and the club has survived. It'll be no different when Messi's leaves. I just don't want us to get in a situation where we're sacrificing our team just to fund his salary. It just seems Laporta is getting desperate, and he thinks the club won't survive without Messi on the pitch. He should know better.

 

[Porque]

The thing is.... even the average Barcelona and Madrid sides will generate a lot of interest, simply because they have so many supporters around the world. They may not be the best teams they've ever had, but the supporters will still watch them and spend a shit load of money on their merch, matchday tickets and whatnot.

Big players have come and gone and the club has survived. It'll be no different when Messi's leaves. I just don't want us to get in a situation where we're sacrificing our team just to fund his salary. It just seems Laporta is getting desperate, and he thinks the club won't survive without Messi on the pitch. He should know better.

It also seems to be about his legacy, not being the president that lost Messi. And I think Messi negotiating team know this.

He should probably offer Messi something like 80m, the highest football salary in the world then say "we offered Messi a salary of 80m/yr which is the highest salary in world football. Unfortunately Messi didn't agree and we can't afford to increase our offer, especially amidst covid and LaLiga FFP".

Sure it throws Messi under the bus, but it may be what is necessary.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Barto lost Messi at least in my mind

 

[xxxxxx]

Barto lost Messi at least in my mind

And that's why people won't blame Laporta. Messi wanted to leave last season, so it won't be Laporta's fault because Messi is out of contract in any case. Laporta can say he tried to keep Messi but couldn't due to the salary cap. It's entirely on Barotmeu for putting the club in a horrible mess by giving out stupid contracts in the first place.

If Messi does leave, he can say his proper goodbyes and maybe we can have a send-off game for him.

 

[DonAK]

Is this fact though? Messi salary is 160m ish per season. How can we completely drop that and still need cuts.

If that is true then covid and LaLiga salary cap are truly a murderous mix and Tebas should review the salary cap, as club turnovers will/should increase over this season as the country opens up.

I've read that if Madrid lose Varane they won't even get a replacement.

If that's not a sign of the austerity of the whole league then I don't know what is.

If it is a fact? We cannot know for sure. La Liga only allows us to spend a maximum of 60 or 70% of our budget on salaries I believe and Laporta said we are currently sitting at 110%. I assume we would still be over the limit even if Messi in theory takes a paycut or does not renew, at least according to a few journalists and reports and Javier Tebas seem to suggest we have big problems as well. Why? Well....because a lot of the contracts of our players were backloaded by the former board according to Laporta. A lot of players have their salaries increase significantly from the 2021/2022 season.

Just look at Dembele being set to make 20m gross this last year when he was making less the years before.

Goes to show almost no journalist has real connections within the new board as of yet.

Yeah. Which is what makes it both frustrating and exciting

 

[Porque]

If it is a fact? We cannot know for sure. La Liga only allows us to spend a maximum of 60 or 70% of our budget on salaries I believe and Laporta said we are currently sitting at 110%. I assume we would still be over the limit even if Messi in theory takes a paycut or does not renew, at least according to a few journalists and reports and Javier Tebas seem to suggest we have big problems as well. Why? Well....because a lot of the contracts of our players were backloaded by the former board according to Laporta. A lot of players have their salaries increase significantly from the 2021/2022 season.

Just look at Dembele being set to make 20m gross this last year when he was making less the years before.

I don't think the numbers add up though. If we have to reduce salary cap even without Messi, then we could never afford to re-sign Messi.

There simply isn't enough cap that could be reduced to renew. Messi in that scenario.

It means we drop the 160m current contract. Plus need to drop another 100m per year for his new contract. Plus need to drop 20m-ish for Depay, Eric, Emerson, Aguero.

So that's 280m or so of yearly salary that would need to be wiped.

Impossible. The numbers don't add up.