Benvingut a Barca, Maxwell

I think it's a goos deal. 5 million for Maxwell, eho's a good defender as well as a good attacker is a hell of a deal. Now we can even not need to buy Villa, because he can play as a winger and we can put Henry up front.

I was just wondering what's "Cesc Pistol" is supposed to mean...

The other shoe in the Maxwell deal? Hopefully, he can speak Italian....

http://goal.com/en-us/news/86/...

Mourinho apparently is a big Hleb admirer, and just missed on him when we pipped him from Arsenal.

This would kind of be a bummer, since I think that Hleb has the skill set to succeed with us. My assumption is also that we have someone in mind to retain midfield/wing depth.

By the way "Cesc Pistol" is a fabulous name. Just thought that needed pointed out.

Well though what he did say was partly true. We really never made subs most of the time. Some cules' head exploded shouting SUB SOMEONE PEP!! at the telly.

Though our intention was always to see more of Bojan (only to a minor extent Caceres and Hleb) But you don't see Bojan saying anything in the press even though it affected him deeply and very visibly.

I also agree with view that calls bullshit on Hleb's comments. Guardiola didn't have confidence in him because post-injury, whenever he was inserted, he was festering dog crap.

Not the kind of thing that instills confidence, is it?

Keita got into the rotation and stayed there by virtue of doing his job. Hleb is another matter.

And the only thing that whining to the press does is bury him farther down on the bench. Learn Spanish, play like a man and shut up, Hleb. And this is your staunchest defender in this space talking.

It's nice to think of Maxwell as a tactical option/backup, for sure. But I confess to surprise that there is still any doubt about Abidal for us. All he does is run his heart out and with his coverage, enable Alves to go on walkabout, right?

He definitely came back too soon from the injury, I think. You could see it in his lateral movement. But I can't think of a left back I'd rather have for our system.

The more I hear about this Filipe thing, the crappier I think Lendoiro should feel. He bluffed with a player's dreams. Shame on him.

The Villa stuff might not be so crazy. Consider:

--Valencia isn't exactly a worldwide marketing dream. Barca is. If Villa stars for us, his maketing potential is immense.

--Does he have a personal contract with a shoe or clothing company? Again, killer play means Nike or somebody comes calling.

--Unlike the sales of Eto'o shirts, Villa shirt sales would happen if he rocked it.

--Earning potential is higher with us than Valencia, not only in terms of salary, but title-based incentives.

It's a future-focused move, but could Villa be willing to spend a bit to make a lot more?

It's also, even if just a rumor, a clear indication that he is DONE with Valencia.

This story isn't over.

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So Barca could play Estudiantes in the CWC.

If this guy delivers for 4.5 million Euro...then we will have to target all those players within this budget!
It's good to know that Txiki et al do have a plan B, a plan C and a plan D (just in case).

As per the striker position, I would make an effort as long as Villa puts on paper his willingness to get less money in order to play for us.

I think it is a bad idea to sign Forlán for 36M plus taxes. Let Eto'o do his work, if he is not there, put Bojan or even Keirrison on the pitch.
Keep the money for next year. We might need a big investment once Eto'o is not with us anymore.

haha thanks Ramzi, it would have killed you if you didn't say it, eh? maybe he hates Madrid as well for not having faith in him. it will be funny if he went to inter for free, then the cost of the Maxwell transfer will be unbearable.
I hope you don't get the number two on your wish list, who I think is Mascherano, as I really hope we finalize the Villa deal.
if anyone of the board is dumb we wouldn't have been celebrating the triple this summer and the CL two summers ago.
it is really great to be able to produce our own players and transform them into best players in the world, and to see the best players of other teams so eager to join us, assuming ofcourse that the Villa story is true.

i might be making something out of nothing, but does anyone else find it interesting that on the official barca website inregards to the maxwell signing, it says, "fc barcelona and inter milan havee reached THE BEGINNING OF AN AGREEMENT...".

Lets hope pissed off Filipe will not end up offloaded to madrid for Cheap. Joy spoiler ha? :D

Maxwell was the first name on my wish list for the season. More to come...

And yea...so...Tixki is not the dump after all, right? ;)

http://fcbtransfers.blogspot.c...
if this is true then Filipe will get a heart attack

I like these out of the blue signings. Hope our next signings are akin to this....

A top player taking a cut of 8 Million Euros. I'll believe it when I see it.

(On the minutest of minute chance that it is actually even half true, it'll make him a right legend in my books!)

I think it was his Girlfriend not his wife...

Jnice bad news for Filipe, but he should now concentrate on developing with Deportivo until his contract is finished, so his dream move is still possible, he is just 23.
Villa news is too good to be true. let's wait and see how this saga will end. but if it happens he will be the ultimate hero.. and Eto'o the ultimate villain.

LOL, but your report looks nice and is easy to understand.

you beat me Jnice... you beat me...

Wow... i hope this is true... (but i doubt it...)

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12...

summary:

-Barcelona wont offer higher than 42 million Euros
-Valencia wont accept lower than 50 million Euros
-Villa was set to earn 7.5 Mil Euros / season with us for 5 years
-Villa will accept only 5.5 Mil Euros / season if we bid 50 million.

A world class striker at the best club in the world earning only 5.5 million Euros per season. DONT. SEE. IT. HAPPENING.

it's nice to believe though...

Damn, apparently Filipe broke down into a "sea of tears," and his wife even had quit her job last week, spending her days in Barcelona looking for a home.

http://www.elmundodeportivo.es...

Moving on from him, both Catalan papers reporting that Villa has told Barcelona he is willing to paid the 8 million euros or so difference that separates Barca and Valencia from coming to an agreement for him.

http://fcbtransfers.blogspot.c...

What do you guys think about that?

yeah, that was me that called Maxwell a great buy because he was a tactical option rather than a straight sub...

I also forgot to mention that he also slightly alleviates our winger issue because he plays left wing as well as left back. Now we can rest BOTH HENRY AND INIESTA at the same time! did anyone think that could ever happen? (well, without having to put hleb in)

or with Henry looking like our number 9 for the moment;

Maxwell-Henry-Messi
Iniesta-Yaya-Xavi

anyways... yeah, my point is that Txiki, that evil genius, patched up two holes in our depth with 5 million Euros!

and to think we would have easily spent 75-80 million doing it (20 for Felipe Luis, 55-60 for Ribery)

(Honestly, i don't know who will end up being the starter Abidal or Maxwell... not saying i think Maxwell WILL replace him, but if it happened, i wouldn't be flabbergasted...

But i suppose that with Alves being an automatic starter, Abidal would be the obvious strategicly balancing choice)

finally a substitute for the left back, and a one that can offer new options on the left flank too. and for free really. great buy.
I wouldn't ask for anything more from Abidal, and I don't think any other left full back in the world right now would make me consider replacing him, he is just perfect for us.

Bill, Hleb could be 100% correct, but it is not correct to go to the public and criticize your manager. Bojan and the rest could have come out in the media too, but that is unprofessional. Ask Guardiola personally why he makes late subs. Don't speak through the media and expect that to get you game time. Oh yeah I forgot, he can't even say "hi" in Spanish.

Used to admire Hleb, but his whole attitude with us has annoyed me to the point where I think it's best if he left now.

I am personally very pleased with this buy. We get an experienced backup to Abidal who is in his prime (not to old, not too young) for a very good price. He seems like he is very suited to our style, he can pass he can keep the ball. Smart buy IMO. I'm surprised the EE isn't looking for a LB, Heinze is awful...

Adriano is too unpredicatable and unstable in the head to be depended upon. 10 times worse than Eto'o.

Maxwell is good at left back...I haven't had much faith in Abidal...he was abused a little bit too easily by skilled players like Llorente, Ribery, Roben and even Sergio Ramos for that first real madrid goal against Barca.

Wouldn't Barca be willing to get rid of Abidal, if they are still able to buy Felipe at a decent price? Offer might still be on the table.

I'm not impressed much by Hleb's performance this past season, but dude has a point. There were many games this season when Barcelona were up 3-0,4-0,4-1 by halftime, and messi, Eto'o, Iniesta, Henry and Xavi were still playing well into the 70th minute, and I kept asking myself' why isn't Bojan on the field right now? Games like Valladolid, Malaga, Atletico and Bayern Munich that were essentially over by halftime, Bojan and Hleb could have played, since all that was required after half-time was 'tiki taka' passing. The Man U game too, especially after the second goal, I thought Bojan should have been inserted, good for his confidence and future.

You see some similarities, right? They're both still young, have incredible freakish athleticism but also very raw technical ability. Projects. The difference is that Caceres has played well in La Liga for a team that parked the bus 95% of the time (Recreativo Huelva). Its just a very expensive project right now and we also have Muniesa who is a prodigy with superstar potential waiting to break out in the next few years.

LOL the same Drenthe who admitted on Feynoord's website that his favorite player was Ronaldinho. The same Drenthe that Rijkaard wanted to sign, but let him stay on loan for one year, like Henrique. But Drenthe said noo I want to play right away, and you see how successful he has been.

You speak of Drenthe like you speak of a has-been...He was 21 only a couple of years ago...then again, he is Dutch...

I've seen him play for Urugay. Raw athleticism is more noticeable at Fullback than Centerback so he seems much more impressive when you see him running full blast up and down the field. He really is a physical freak but at the same time raw technically alebit with good instincts. A loan may be a good idea. A transfer may be an option only if we recover all or some of our investment in him. We'll see what happens. His potential is tempting but then again Drenthe has a lot of potential, doesn't he?

Caceres is a good left back for Uruguay and I think that could be his best position for us. Also, I thought that the Caceres to Juventus deal is a full on transfer. It doesn't help that his agent played for Juve.

Damnit!

Actually Hector Caceres can play LB...sometimes...only if you want.... :D

Duh. Forgot about Caceres. He may be an option at Left back but all indications point to a loan out. He simply does not have the ball and passing skills to consistently play in ours system right now. He has awesome raw athleticism but I see him as a project right now. Think relatively high cieling but also a low floor.

Very, true Kevin. Oh, and believe me there is nothing I would like to see more than for Abidal to re-learn how to cross. I know Pep's scheme requires him to be primarily defensive since he is our best counter attack breaker but his neglible impact on the other end when he does get opportunites does make life a lot harder on Henry and makes Iniesta have to cut left from midfield to keep the width of the field.

However, like you said: Brazilian...Fullback...nuff' said :D

I'm very happ though because this was the one position we had to re-enforce, no matter what. With Uncle Sylvinho gone, Puyol would have been our only other player capable of playing there and he is also our backup right FB. If worse comse to worse with the striker situation, we have a stable of young, fearless, raw as sushi wingers (Jeffren, Pedro!!!, and Gai) to strengthen the forward line. We have guys like Marquez, Pique, and Henrique who can play D-Mid but NOBODY behind Abidal at Left Back. This not only gives us depth, it also gives us another chess piece for Guardiola to use. Lets hope he is healthy and regains his 04-07 form.

If I was Felipe, I'd be pretty pissed with Depor right now. Hell I'd be so pissed I'd refuse to play for them and put in a transfer request and go in the media and say that I can't play for a team that has so much disrespect for a player who loved the club and gave everything while he was there. Poor kid had his dream move shattered just so the boss could brag that he can hold Barca for ransom. Well done Lendoiro! PWNED.

Haha. Never. Or not until September 1st if Villa is not on the team.

And will Goal.com ever retract its "Barca signs Villa" exclusive?

Lendoiro is an idiot, plain and simple. It's the case of a club thinking they have another club over a barrel and holding a player hostage, in effect. Filipe wanted to come, his agent worked to make that happen, the coach wished him well, everybody wanted to get it done except for Lendoiro, who thought we would chip in an extra million or two, instead of saving 4-5 million and getting a player who might actually be more effective for us. Not bad, Txiki. Not bad.

Yes, I feel for Filipe Luis. Now he has to make ready for another season at Depor.

Hector, Abidal was improving at crossing as the season wound to a close, I have to say. But it's hard to argue with a Brazilian. It just is.

Now we still have that midfielder and striker business to solve....

Yes I do agree about your options point and that is something I've been on about for ages.(If were really into options so much how about someone like Guiza/Cruz for backup striker?) But then again we had Sylvinho didn't we? And we didn't use him much. I guess there's still time and we may see something different than what we have and then evaluate his role as such.

And what you say about Abidal acting as a third CB is true however it's exactly what Pep wanted him to do, Abidal said as much in an interview. Though you may hold his pre-pep performances against him and be absolutely right. Though I sometimes do wonder what happened to the guy I saw at Lyon whose performances were such, that people claimed he was the best LB in the world?

*correction* Abidal still sucks monkey balls AT crossing...

I actually think Maxwell is a bit better than Alves defensively. Like somebody else said before, think of him as more a tactical option than a straight up backup. Abidal is, with Puyol (still haven't seen Henrique), our best defensive FB but he still sucks monkey balls and crossing and his goal scoring record speaks for itself. He usually stays back most of the time to form a three man back line with the Cb's, allowing Yaya to move up and his primary role is breaking up counters which he does VERY well. However, he makes our left wing a little one dimensional some times and isolates Henry in certain sitations. Maxwell gives Pep another chess piece to move around. Thus, for certain games, he brings width and crossing to the table, giving us a true threat from the left wing without requiring Iniesta to go wide. This will, however, imply that our d-mid staying back as essentially a CB to form a three man back line with the CB's. Very interesting.

eklavya, in FIFA 09 he is fast lol so he probably is.

Cesc Pistol, from what I've read, people have said Maxwell is a more than capable defender. Better than most give him credit for. If he stays fit, we could see him start a significant amount of games.

Is he fast? What number should he get?? I think only the numbers 7 and 21 could become free...

Wow. People talking about Adriano. We must really be getting desperate. If we really wanted a "would never really try as hard, has-been mercenary" we would have gotten Dinho back. Atleast he can sell shirts.

Maxwell is pretty decent, not too strong a competitor for Abidal and his defense frailties mean that it wouldn't be balanced to play both him and Dani. So a bench role for him then, question is, will he accept it?

Finally. Gotta feel bad for Filipe Luis. Talk about getting screwed over. Poetic justice regarding Lendoiro. He called Txiki's bluff and paid for it because it wasn't a bluff. Awesome to see him groveling at the last minute "no, no.... I didn't mean it, lets negotiate, PLEASE!!!". Now they have no money and a rightfully pissed off player. That's what you get. However, like I said, I feel horrible for Filipe. Here's hoping he holds it against Depor rather than Barca because at 23 he's got a lot of future still. Just sadly paarently not at Barcs :( .

This was the most vital signing we had to make. Assuming Henrique sticks with the first team and Muniesa gets a few run outs in Copa del Rey, our backline looks solid. A lot of this is due to having players who can play multiple positions. If Milito comes back, even better. Depth wise-
RB- Alves, Puyol, Henrique
CB- Pique (who woulda thunk it a year ago?), Marquez/Puyol, Henrique, Milito (?), Muniesa (?), Yaya
LB- Abidal, Maxwell, Puyol

Not too shabby.

yyyaaaaaaaaaaaaa WE FINALLZ GOT SOMEONE!!!! AND FOR 4.5M?! HJOLY CRAP! THROW AWAY THE PILLS ITS TIME TO PARTY!! :D

Isaiah that has been the phrase I have uttered most this whole year : stupid iPhone. :-) it makes me sound stupid, albeit it's partly that I am. Still would not trade it or any other phone though.
Maxwell? awesome!

Maybe we can still get Filipe for 9m and loan him out to deportivo. Then he can come back next year and fight for the position.

Maxwell is a very decent player, and see how nice we were with the price?

One day we may ask favor in return... that day may never come... but if it does, remember this day... :)

i had THIS* video

LMAO Kevin i had the video copy and pasted i was gonna put it in the last post. AWESOME. he's got some great ball control and passing man, a left footed Alves. I wouldn't mind starting him if he's healthy. Brazilian fullbacks are pretty awesome haha.

i guess your right Jnice, he is a risk. 14 mil Euros? :-)

IDK, ive always liked Adriano cuz he reminded me of the Ronaldo that played for Barca. Huge, Powerfull, lightning fast, Killer Finishing, and more technique than he knew what to do with.

Obviously to say he is in a slump is to understate, but i like to see the good in people and be optomistic. I still religiously watch AC Milan games waiting for my R10 to come back... :-(

Kxevin, if Hleb played well, I wouldn't mind him not knowing the language. But for him to sit there and say he DOESN"T KNOW IT AT ALL and that he will pick up the books again during the season is absolutely ridiculous. As you know, I had Barcatv, and I saw interviews after Yaya's, Henry's, Eidur's and Abidal's first season where they were speaking in Spanish. It might not have been great, but you can obviously see they made an effort to learn because as a professional, that is part of your job. To say that a year later you don't know a lick and you aren't studying right now is ludicrous to me.

Timeout, Jason. 15 million euros on Adriano? 15 million euros on a player who no matter who he talks to, reverts back to his old ways. HELL NO. Pep could drill all types of shit into his head and you will still not be guaranteed he shows up to training or whatever. Mourinho repeatedly tried to help him. Showed him tough love, cared for him, gave him chance after chance. And what he do in the end? Say he wants to quit football only to go play in Brazil. And what did he do the other day after his hat trick? Yeah, you guessed it. He skipped training because he spent the night out in town. No fucking way. Ronaldo is 5x better than him anyway.

What sucks is that the one that got screwed the worst by this is Felipe Luis.

Just read on Sport that after Lenoirdo saw on our website that we agreed a deal for Maxwell, they were basically like "oh shit" and tried to send us a fax with a counter proposal way lower then his buyout clause. Because remember, Deportivo needs the money, they apparently have some creditors to pay. This is what they put on their official website:

"Following the meeting of the Board of Directors held this evening in the local social club in Corunna, Real Club Deportivo sent via fax to the Football Club Barcelona counter an economic case for the transfer of the federative rights of Filipe, after the first formal offer in writing sent Catalan club last July 10. Counter proposal of Sports This is far below the termination clause of the player, which is 20 million euros."

http://sport.es/default.asp?id...

Fuckers. Lendoiro's hardball shit backfired on him. I can see him going to Madrid, though.

http://sport.es/default.asp?id...

Regarding Adriano;

i'd be willing to risk in the neighborhood of 15mil Euros. Again, I'm sure Pep Guardiola would sit down and talk to him about getting back into shape.

Pep would need to be absolutely convinced about his ability to get back to his former self before we throw any money his way...

I'd rather a player spent time working on his skills, than learning a language. I don't think that Henry was adequate his first year and light years better his second, because he learned Spanish. Yes, Hleb should know the language. But that isn't the reason that he stank out the planet last year, IMHO.

i know it was already discussed, but i just read Hleb comments about "his situatation" and about Pep, and now am reading that he still hasn't started to learn spanish.

Screw him. He want's more game time, but the declarations that he is making aren't exactly making a good case for him. He better have gotten ALOT better at soccer in the offseason or else he is screwed.

Hleb: "I don’t know the Spanish language at all but I don’t think that it’s the main reason of my failures in Barcelona. I didn’t know English in London and Wenger trusted me and I had no problems with understanding each other during the games."

"Though maybe it’s very important for Spanish players when foreigners know their language. When I come back to Barcelona I will start learning it again."

Is he serious? You mean to tell me that knowing that he "doesn't know the Spanish language at all", he isn't busting his ass to learn during the off season? Wow, he is a fuck.

http://english.sport-express.r...

Haha yeah Isaiah, he definitely is.

And no way do we need Adriano on our team. Things go wrong, he cries and wants to quit football.(aka go back to Brazil) No thanks. Plus, he is fat, has lost some pace, and misses at least 2 training sessions a week.

Stupid iPhone making line breaks where it should say "I am still"

Adriano is also fat and slow. That's not so good for our rhythm. I a
still in the re-sign etoo camp especially now that we see txikis magic at work. He'll find us a striker for a few rusty forks and some paella. And that striker will be the next wonder ofthe world. Hleb cost 3 times as much as Pique if I must remind you. We need youth not more proven vets.

In response to jnice's first post: you know txiki is listening to damn it feels good to be a gangster right now. Yes he is. Cause he's a gangster.

Adriano's a head case. If he cost about 5m, he'd be worth the risk. But playing for Barca brings with it crazy, soul-shattering pressure if you aren't ready for it.

I can't believe that people are still talking about Forlan. ATM has said repeatedly, "Not for sale," but it just doesn't go away.

ah...a little fresco on the tranfer season wall as the
paint
slowly
dries...nice...but I WANT ME SOME FUTBOL.

Tnteresting re Adriano, Jason...how is his aerial game? We definatley need some skillful knoggens on the ends of the cross-fests we may witness with Dani on right and Mr. Smart on the left.

Adriano's Agent:

"He is doing well, but he could return to Italy. There are also some options in Spain and I think he's considering it. When he was at Inter, there was talk he could join Milan, he could go there in the future"

ooo... Proven Plan B striker anyone? I'd take Adriano over Eto'o, Adebayor, Forlan, any day, and maybe (maybe!) over David Villa

dammit, if we had any hope of selling Eto'o, they just got smaller...

It seems Arsenal are Selling Adebayor to ManCity for 25mil GBP, and he will earn 170k/week
_______________

also OT, it looks like Genoa signed Rodrigo Palacios from Boca Jrs, i was not ecstatic when we were linked with him years ago...

Seems as if we bought another Sylvinho, when you think about it. Which ain't a bad thing.

I'm glad we got him though, not only is it great to finally make a signing, but Maxwell is a really good player. I used to watch a lot of Serie A. While he doesn't have the attacking prowess of an Alves or Lahm, he certainly is an attacking fullback, and probably a better defender than Alves.

I actually don't see him too much as "Abidal's sub", but instead both are tactical options. Whenever the particular game calls for extra strength in defense, or to tightly mark a good winger, Abidal is first choice.

But if we know we are going to be up against the bus, and would rather have extra firepower on the flanks, then Maxwell is my first choice. An attacking leftback would help to support Henry on the left, so he doesn't feel stranded, and it will allow Iniesta to stay in the midfield, assisting Xavi in controlling the game, and findinf holes in the defense...

ok, maybe i'm getting ahead of myself. I'm just glad that we have a signing.

As much as we wanted Felipe, 5 mil in this transfer season? thats less than what the Buying club and the selling club quibble over in the valuation of most players...

keep him... not on the same level as the top left backs, but he's good cover. there's a reason he doesn't play for brazil despite it being their weakest position...

one thing to consider tho: he is Ibra's best friend and you guys might not be getting villa...

ridiculously good fit for your team.

Great buy. Finally something to lift our spirits!!!

Take that EE, We stick to our principles!

Damn, it feels good to finally have a new transfer.