Xavi Hernández

[Messigician]

Tchouameni:80m
Bellingham: 130
Endrink: 75m
Mbappe: 170m

455

Coutinho: 160
Dembele: 120
Cheeseman: 130
De jong: 80

490m

Just a reminder of why we are where we are right now, and that 90% of those acting as if 180m, to get 4 players in, is some great number, are the same ones who use to say bartomeau is a good president & knew what he was doing re our finances.

Xavi needs a lotta work, he probably isn't the man for the job, personally I said I thought it was too soon for him, but don't expect miracles coming from where we were, with a tiny bit of money spent in today's market.

To be competitive in the league, is all we can ask for at this stage.

Mbappe 170m?

Pass the weed bro

 

[jamrock]

Mbappe 170m?

Pass the weed bro

You think half a billi?

 

[jamrock]

Also no shot we would be running Madrid this close had it not been for the investments made over the summer.

We got a new manager bump, after he came in & a few new signings last season, that wouldn't have kept us close to them again this season.

Their is a reason why top managers always try to improve there teams every summer, if you're not improving, you're falling behind

I've read a few saying, if we didn't invest we would still have been close to Madrid again,using the end of last season as an example, No shot.

 

[serghei]

No point arguing here.

Liverpool made CL final last year, and spent since then 137m. And with 2 weeks left in the season they were close of winning all titles in play.

Since then Barcelona spent 153m.

What team does Liverpool have, and what team does Barca have? You think spending 15m more than an already top 3 team is that big of a deal?

I swear some of you live in fantasy make a wish land.


Btw, Manchester United, that most fans expect us to knock out in EL, has spend 240m last summer only, not even counting the massive spending in each of the last 2-3 summers while we were signing Luuk de Jong and Adama on loan, players that even Sevilla and Wolverhampton didn't rate much.

At the moment we're playing in a different financial league compared to other clubs, like the big 4 in England, PSG, Bayern, or Madrid.

 

[Porque]

Madrid spent 80m in transfer fees last Summer (on one player), 31m on transfer fees the summer before (on one player) and 0m the summer before that.

Whatever they spend from now on has been well earned, not ignoring the magical accounting that has the stadium rebuild not count against their Cap.

In other words, Laporta has spent more in 6 months than Florentino spent in the last 3 years.

Yet Madrid somehow managed to orchestrate a Champions League winning squad after spending 31m in the previous two Summer mercatos. Not to mention not renewing Ramos (Pique), selling Odegaard, Varane (Araujo), Hakimi (Pedri for example). Our fanbase would have a meltdown with those releases and lack of signings. For Florentino that's the ticket to another Champions League.

There's just no excuses to not be able to compete with them, and the table right now shows that to be fair.

Now 4 years ago Madrid did spend big (over 330m) with only a third of that making the first 11.

 

[jamrock]

Militao
Rodrygo
Mendy

All big Impact players who helped them to be where they are now, so they could save over the following seasons.

We got
Cheeseman
De jong

Biggest achievement for those players are winning the copa & being better than imbotep.


They did all of that while keeping their wage structure in place. While Barto was giving away sky high contracts like They we're going out of style.

 

[JohnN]

You misunderstood me. I am not criticizing him for Espanyol game alone. This entire season I can't see any signs of improvement. We have spent a lot of money and we are definitely under-performing in big games. In CL we under-performed heavily. We were great in that first game against Bayern but we were underwhelming in both games against Inter and especially against Bayern at home. I will be the first one to admit that he lacked entire defense during that time but against an average Inter we simply needed to show much more. IMHO we were playing much better football from the moment he took over and until that away game against Real. After that 4-0 win we basically stopped improving.

Another problem for me are our signings and potential signings during his time here.

Lewa - too old and too expensive player with too long contract. He is under-performing in big games and I suppose he was brought in for those big games.
Auba - probably the best signing in the last couple of years.
Raphinha - he definitely needs to show more and was way too expensive
Torres - same as Raphinha
Kessie - he was free but IMHO he doesn't suit our way of playing and should be sold ASAP
Christensen - OK signing so far
Kounde - IMHO he is a great signing but can not be used as a RB anymore
Alonso - a player who can only be a good LB backup for Barca but ended up playing as a CB

Xavi also wanted to sign Azpiliqueta - a 33y old finished player. He also wanted to send Balde on a loan and it turned out he is now our best LB in the squad.

In addition to that we are now chasing finished players like Kante or Jorghinho and tying to persuade Busquets to renew for another season. Furthermore, I am 99% certain that we would splash additional 60 mil on Zubimendi right now if we could. That's just a bad planing and horrible decision making. Try to acknowledge that we have paid around 115 mil for Raphinha and Torres while in the same time Benfica signed Enzo Fernandez for 14 mil and City signed Julian Alvarez for 21 mil! That's just mental.

Barca is broke so we need to spend wisely. However, we have spent a huge amount of money on old or average players that don't suit our style of play. All of that was done with Xavi's blessing so that also has to be taken into a consideration when we evaluate his work here.

Did he really want to loan Balde?? I had high hopes for him from the start, it was evident he has talent. Shocking assessment by xavi If true .

 

[serghei]

Madrid spent 80m in transfer fees last Summer (on one player), 31m on transfer fees the summer before (on one player) and 0m the summer before that.

Whatever they spend from now on has been well earned, not ignoring the magical accounting that has the stadium rebuild not count against their Cap.

In other words, Laporta has spent more in 6 months than Florentino spent in the last 3 years.

Yet Madrid somehow managed to orchestrate a Champions League winning squad after spending 31m in the previous two Summer mercatos. Not to mention not renewing Ramos (Pique), selling Odegaard, Varane (Araujo), Hakimi (Pedri for example). Our fanbase would have a meltdown with those releases and lack of signings. For Florentino that's the ticket to another Champions League.

There's just no excuses to not be able to compete with them, and the table right now shows that to be fair.

Now 4 years ago Madrid did spend big (over 330m) with only a third of that making the first 11.

Madrid's older players like Modric, Kroos, Casemiro, Carvajal, and Benzema are in a completely different league compared with likes of Pique, Busi, Suarez. Benzema is same age as Suarez. He is Ballon d'Or winner and Suarez is as good as retired.

In short, Madrid's veterans have managed to keep playing at a world class level for longer, probably not as high peaks as our legends, but better longevity at the top, quite clearly. Whereas our clowns distinguished themselves post 30 by getting humiliated every season in CL.

The veteran core of Madrid makes Pique, Busi, Suarez look like washed up bums.

 

[serghei]

Militao
Rodrygo
Mendy

All big Impact players who helped them to be where they are now, so they could save over the following seasons.

We got
Cheeseman
De jong

Biggest achievement for those players are winning the copa & being better than imbotep.


They did all of that while keeping their wage structure in place. While Barto was giving away sky high contracts like They we're going out of style.

Not to mention Vinicius, probably 2nd best winger in the world after Mbappe. And Fede Valverde.

Vinicius and Rodrygo managed to come up with 4-5 goals and several assists between them at the most elite level possible. We have fucking donkeys like Ferran and Dembele.

I know Madrid are nasty and insufferable, but they are two levels above us. Much better veterans (uncomparable really), and also better youngsters, and better players in their prime, as well as much better keeper.

Who the hell plays in this Madrid team from Barca lol. De Jong and nobody else . Even De Jong is questionable.

Sorry, but out fans need a reality check dose.

 

[jamrock]

Not to mention Vinicius, probably 2nd best winger in the world after Mbappe. And Fede Valverde.

Vinicius and Rodrygo managed to come up with 4-5 goals and several assists between them at the most elite level possible. We have fucking donkeys like Ferran and Dembele.

I know Madrid are nasty and insufferable, but they are two levels above us. Much better veterans (uncomparable really), and also better youngsters, and better players in their prime, as well as much better keeper.

Who the hell plays in this Madrid team from Barca lol. De Jong and nobody else . Even De Jong is questionable.

Sorry, but out fans need a reality check dose.

Exactly when they needed to spend to add around there vets they did so & found a few gems, while getting rid of the vets that wanted too much money for what they were offering on the field.

That money they spent so wisely 4/5 years ago, is why they are were they are now & should have been the same for us. Buttttt!!.

 

[serghei]

Exactly when they needed to spend to add around there vets they did so & found a few gems, while getting rid of the vets that wanted too much money for what they were offering on the field.

That money they spent so wisely 4/5 years ago, is why they are were they are now & should have been the same for us. Buttttt!!.

Yeah, imagine pumping up Ansu Fati and Dembele based on some goals in La Liga (not even that many) and a couple of CL goals in the groups, in front of players like Vinicius and Rodrygo who scored multiple clutch goals in CL quarters, semis, and final between them. Against teams like Liverpool and City.

The only thing Dembele ever achieved against a team like Liverpool in a high pressure match is become an internet meme.

The only positions where we get close to Madrid is maybe Alaba vs Kounde, De Jong vs Tchouameni, and Lewandowski vs Benzema. But frankly I'd pick the Madrid players in all 3 cases.

Imagine a fanbase so delusional that they moan non-stop when we lead the table in these conditions, based on some half-baked ideas about aesthetics and whatnot, as if this is 2011 or 2015. The hubris it takes to adopt this position in 2022 .

 

[soul24rage]

Louis Van Gaal and Xavi

https://twitter.com/MovistarFutbol/status/1609886678226984960

 

[Porque]

Madrid's older players like Modric, Kroos, Casemiro, Carvajal, and Benzema are in a completely different league compared with likes of Pique, Busi, Suarez. Benzema is same age as Suarez. He is Ballon d'Or winner and Suarez is as good as retired.

In short, Madrid's veterans have managed to keep playing at a world class level for longer, probably not as high peaks as our legends, but better longevity at the top, quite clearly. Whereas our clowns distinguished themselves post 30 by getting humiliated every season in CL.

The veteran core of Madrid makes Pique, Busi, Suarez look like washed up bums.

Fair. Those guys took care of themselves way more and kept themselves at higher fitness levels. Well, we all know how training was rumoured to be with Valverde. You can only imagine what happened when the players got tired of LE's intensity and then Valverde come in with his lassez-fair approach to fitness endulging them all.

Militao
Rodrygo
Mendy

All big Impact players who helped them to be where they are now, so they could save over the following seasons.

That's the thing. These guys weren't instant impacts in their first season yet we expect Kounde and Raphinha to be after a few months. To the extent that we're rumoured to be looking at an exit for Raphinha already.

In regards to Rodrygo. Just my opinion but he isn't a world class player. What he has shown though is excellent timing to score key goals- something we lack and that Dembele is the opposite of . Maybe Ansu could have been that without the long term injuries.

 

[Barcilliant]

You, like others don't understand that 200m doesn't mean that much now, when you need almost a new team.

200m doesn't bring you from playing with Demir, Jutgla, Abde in the previous season, to challenging likes of Liverpool, Bayern etc.

Hell, how much did United spend in the last 3-4 summers, and they can't even get close to a title challenge in EPL. What are we even talking about here?

Fuck challenging Bayern,City, Real etc

WE CANT EVEN GET OUT OF THE FUCKING GROUP STAGE OF CL AFTER SPENDING 200 MILLION! DO YOU GET THAT?

How much did Brugge, Benfica and Sporting spend? Did they spend 350 to 500 million? Yes, I don't think so.
Stop shilling for Xavi. He was a whinger as a player and now he's a whinger as a manager. He has no idea how to set up a team. Bring Tuchel in asap.

 

[serghei]

That's the thing. These guys weren't instant impacts in their first season yet we expect Kounde and Raphinha to be after a few months. To the extent that we're rumoured to be looking at an exit for Raphinha already.

In regards to Rodrygo. Just my opinion but he isn't a world class player. What he has shown though is excellent timing to score key goals- something we lack and that Dembele is the opposite of . Maybe Ansu could have been that without the long term injuries.

I wouldn't believe that we're looking to sell Raphinha. Seems like random news without much backing. Just months ago the rumor mill was that the staff is astonished by Raphinha in trainings and they don't understand why he's not performing at the required level in games.

The thing is Madrid are smarter than us at all levels, sadly. They are tapping up top tier talents from South America because they know they can't wrestle with the oil clubs for ready-made stars anymore. Paying 40-60m for some kids in Brazil is still risky, but a player like Vinicius at current level would be 120-140m minimum. Rodrygo now would be 80m or so easily. Now if this Endrick kid is a hit as well, they are looking at some major upside with this strategy.

What we need to do is get rid of that damn salary cap which makes it so hard to sign players. We do that, and make signings like Ferran Torres the exception rather than the rule, and we will be fine imo and we will show improvement season by season.

Of course fans are gonna want impossible things, but the club needs to be cool headed and go at it season by season. The improvement from last season (fighting top 4), to this one (fighting for La Liga) is pretty clear. Next season some improved performances in CL will be expected.

It is very important though to find ways to sign top class players, and players with a lot of potential moving forward. Signing washed up stars (like I'm hearing with Kante or some other names), or players other teams don't want... that's not encouraging. You can't build a solid team on the cheap, you need quality players that are gonna cost serious money. Even talented teenagers now cost 30m+, it's a crazy market, but we have to be able to make moves in it.