Arturo Vidal Unhappy with Lack of Playing Time at Barcelona

Arturo Vidal appears to be increasingly displeased with his playing time at Barcelona in the last few months, but he has refused solutions of a fallout with manager Ernesto Valverde. The Chilean midfielder made the switch to Barcelona in the summer, but it has not been a rosy start to life at the Catalan club for the former Bayern Munich player.Vidal was only named on the bench for the crucial Champions League game against Tottenham. Even though Barcelona ended up winning the game with a 4-2 success, the headlines did captureVidal in a grumpy mood on the bench. The midfielder also went on to reveal his frustration on social media.

Vidal made the switch from Bayern Munich for around €20 million. The 31-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Spanish outfit, who have had a disastrous start to the 2018-19 campaign. Even though Barcelona are still are the top of the Spanish La Liga after the first few games of the campaign, they have already dropped multiple points so far in the season. A major saving grace has been their main rivals Real Madrid also dropping points. After the reaction for the lack of gametime against Spurs,Vidal was not seen in the draw with Valencia during the weekend. The 31-year-old claims that he will speak with the coach if he has a personal problem and it is not an issue right now.
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Jordi Alba hails Marc-Andre Ter Stegen after heroics versus Real Sociedad

Barcelona defender Jordi Alba has hailed Marc-Andre Ter Stegen as the best goalkeeper in the world after he made a number of key saves during the club’s 2-1 league triumph at Real Sociedad. The away game at Sociedad has proved troublesome for Blaugrana over the years and they managed to come from behind to register a fourth straight league win on Saturday.

Aritz Elustondo gave the perfect start for the hosts after netting the opening goal in the 12th minute and Sociedad appeared on course for the victory at the break. However, following the interval, the Blaugrana stepped up the momentum and goals from Luis Suarez and Ousmane between the 63rd and 66th minute ensured that Valverde’s side continued their perfect start to the campaign.
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Rakitic waits on new contract

Barcelona and Croatia international midfielder Ivan Rakitic will have to wait and see if he will be offered a new contract next season. The Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has made it clear that the Croatian midfielder will have to wait for next season if he wants to get a new contract.

He said that the club will have to assess its financial capacity before making an offer to Ivan Rakitic. He said that Barcelona has the highest wage bill in Spanish football and that this is not sustainable in the future. Continue reading “Rakitic waits on new contract”

Barcelona boss pleased with the involvement of summer signings

Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has admitted that he is pleased with the involvement of the club’s summer signings during the recent friendly game against Tottenham Hotspur. The trident of Clement Lenglet, Malcom, and Arthur featured during the 2-2 draw versus Spurs which they won on penalties and Valverde was particularly pleased with the efforts of the latter, who has no European experience to his name.

Speaking to reporters, he said: “The new signings? They all played really well, it was evident that both Lenglet and Arthur have been training with us for a little while. We had no doubts about Lenglet because he already played in Spain and we have been working on Arthur settling in but this was very encouraging. We believe Arthur can give us a lot in terms of possession, bringing the ball forward and offering a goal threat.”
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ABIDAL – MALCOM HAS BARCELONA PROFILE

Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidalinsists that new club addition Malcom has the profile required to succeed at the Catalan side. This is coming amid backlash in some quarters that it was a panic buy unlike how the club historically buys players it fancies and which follow their pattern.

Abidal said the club looked at the player and confirmed he had “the Barcelona profile” before moving in to sign him. The director said the player’s qualities differentiated him especially as he was good on both wings despite being left footed. Malcom can also play in attacking midfield role, bringing in youth, versatility and talent.
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Messi Demands Barcelona Don’t Sell Mascherano

Lionel Messi has demanded that Barcelona don’t sell long-time star Javier Mascherano, according to reports in Spain. Mascherano, 33, is likely approaching the tail end of his career, but Spanish outlet Diario Gol claim Lionel Messi is determined that his Argentina teammate should not be let go from the club.

Barcelona let veteran defender Dani Alves leave for Juventus in 2016, only for the Brazil star to shine in Serie A and lead his team to the Champions League final. That was particularly frustrating for the Catalan giants as they struggled to find a replacement for him at left-back in the 2016/17 season. And Diario Gol say Messi is keen for the same situation not to arise again next season. The report claims the Barca talisman wants Mascherano to operate as a rotational player behind Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique in the pecking order. Continue reading “Messi Demands Barcelona Don’t Sell Mascherano”

Valverde Defends Resting Messi

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has defended his decision to not use Lionel Messi in the penultimate game of the campaign. Barcelona’s unbeaten tag came to a conclusion after the 5-4 defeat against an unlikely opponent in the form of Levante. Even though Barcelona came up with four goals going forward, they were unable to keep out a brilliant Levante outfit, who had a 4-1 lead at one point in the game. Philippe Coutinho’s hat-trick was responsible for getting Barcelona out of a tricky situation but it was not sufficient to prevent a first defeat of the campaign for the Catalan outfit.

Valverde defended his decision not to utilise Messi in the match. He said: “I feel very angry but I have to look forward because what makes me angry isn’t going to give me solutions. Continue reading “Valverde Defends Resting Messi”

VERMAELEN REGRETS BARCELONA SUMMER MOVE

Belgium international Thomas Vermaelen admits regrets over staying at Barcelona last summer. Numerous sides were interested in his signature including Everton and Crystal Palace. The Premier League sides wanted him for his experience playing at the top level at Arsenal and in Europe.

Ernesto Valverde, who was just taking over the reins, convinced him to remain at the club. The coach asked that Vermaelen fight for a spot in the team despite the mountain against him. The defender agreed to remain despite the frustrating experience he has had since moving to the Nou Camp.
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Valverde is confident that Paulinho will bring something new

Paulinho was one of Barcelona’s summer arrivals as the Brazilian midfielder made his way to Camp Nou for a transfer fee of €40 million.

With the departure of Neymar, Barcelona’s Ernesto Valverde had to find a way to fill in the gap that was left and Paulinho was one of those players who were signed with that objective along with Ousmane Dembele. Continue reading “Valverde is confident that Paulinho will bring something new”

PSG LET GO OF SANCHEZ PURSUIT

The latest rumours emanating from the web suggests Arsene Wenger has one less team to worry about among the mercenary-seeking group of top clubs, with French Ligue 1 outfit Paris Saint German said to have ended their season long pursuit of Arsenal want-away Alexis Sanchez.

Obviously one of the many ripple effects to follow the world record signing of Neymar, the Parisians have expectedly let go of a couple of targets once the Brazilian agreed to put pen to paper. Sanchez, Mbappe and few others were the top transfer targets marked by Les Bleus et Rogues but nailing down someone like Neymar, their top priority was always going to mean they would let go of plan Bs and even Cs. Continue reading “PSG LET GO OF SANCHEZ PURSUIT”