Some rants from migeru... worth reading. He knows a lot and is spot on usually:
@migerucb 3 h
There are two options here: a) The Barça board didn't expect the FIFA ban b) They expected it. In both cases it shows their incompetence
If the Barça board knew about the potential FIFA ban, as you would expect, they should have signed everyone in the last two transfer periods
I never got Barça's optimism regarding the ban. It's delusional. It's ignoring the problems. It's blaming everyone for your own incompetence
It's exactly what they're doing now. "We are calm, we are going to explain it to FIFA" Just like they were "calm" about the Neymar tax case
You can disagree about the FIFA regulation regarding the protection of minors, and I certainly do, but Barça knew the rules
Barça argue that they don't exploit or abuse their players, which is the spirit of the law. A weak argument IMO when you consider it's FIFA
It's important to make a distinction between the signings of Théo Chendri + Bobby Adekanye and the signings of the Korean kids/others though
Théo Chendri or Bobby Adekanye were poached from another club. Lee Seung-Woo moved from one academy (via the Korean FA!) to another (Masia)
Banning Lee Seung-Woo isn't that different from not letting him go to Harvard because he isn't American. Is that how FIFA protect minors?
Note that the FIFA law re minors has been in place since October 2010. At least the current one. Dunno why FIFA mention the 2009-2013 period
That's said, it's because of Maxi Rolón. A player Barça signed in 2009 and that was banned in 2011 IIRC
Bartomeu destroyed a treble-winning basketball team and Laporta sacked him. Rosell and co made him president. That's the sad reality
Zubi wasn't good enough for Athletic, he had to scout about 100 players, and Rosell and co made him sporting director. That's the standard
The Barça board hasn't only mismanaged the team, overlooking their decline, they have damaged the club's reputation
When is a Barça player going to say: People expect a lot from us and we expect the same from the club. I wouldn't accept this mediocrity
Now the board is asking the members to let them spend €600m on the new Camp Nou. They never cared about the team, only about their legacy
Everyone knows my opinion on the new Camp Nou. Barça need it and €600m may not be enough. I can't trust the Barça board though
I can't trust this board. They have lied about everything. Qatar, Abidal, the finances... They even closed the club to new members
I bet they have already assigned the Camp Nou project. I bet they have already sold the naming rights. That's the last BIG LIE
Now the board is asking the members to let them spend €600m on the new Camp Nou. They never cared about the team, only about their legacy
Piqué out 4 weeks. Zubi will say that they can't predict injuries. They are wasting Iniesta's and Messi's prime with their poor management