That could be true but he wasn't expensive we could have signed both or did we have loads of average midfielders like we do now which makes the position look overstocked?
Thiago Alcantara | Signed for Bayern Munich
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That could be true but he wasn't expensive we could have signed both or did we have loads of average midfielders like we do now which makes the position look overstocked?
I do not buy into the Glazer/English player talk, only if SAF ever confirms it will I believe it.
I do recall SAF was chasing the glass guinea pig that summer but Bayern were playing hardball wanting 20m or whatnot. Senna was Plan B (or Plan C as SAF also chased the likes of Ballack and Diarra that summer) and seemingly coveted the move but it didn't pan out for some reason. Wasn't there rumors of UEFA imposing some foreigner plan again?
I do recall SAF was chasing the glass guinea pig that summer but Bayern were playing hardball wanting 20m or whatnot. Senna was Plan B (or Plan C as SAF also chased the likes of Ballack and Diarra that summer) and seemingly coveted the move but it didn't pan out for some reason. Wasn't there rumors of UEFA imposing some foreigner plan again?
Your mouth to god's ears. All I ever wanted was the club not to sign Cesc (No chance) and let Thiago develop. Sadly, the pecking order is Cesc >> Thiago.
Is the relationship between Barca and MD really this concrete? Obviously I've heard a lot about how much influence Barca and Real have at MD & Sport and Marca respectively, but I didn't know it was so cut and dried that that headline represented Vilanova effectively putting Thiago up for sale. Thought it was all a bit more smoke and mirrors.
You have to understand how weird this is for a Brit, given that when our sports pages say something is going to happen it pretty much puts the nail in the coffin of it ever happening - the media knows feck all, and the clubs prefer it that way.
EDIT: On another note, if City get Thiago I will go full retard. Probably won't be jumping off any cliffs, but I may well deliberately fall out of bed. REALLY HARD.
It's not so much that MD is gospel but they'd never unsettle the club/player with a cover like that. To do that, they'd lose access to the club - guaranteed. Back in the day, that kind of Daily Mail coverage existed much like how Marca can battle with the capital club but for over a decade, Sport & MD rarely do anything to unsettle the club. Somewhere someone (beginning with Laporta) realized the best way to prevent a circus atmosphere that had persisted was to get the local papers to not unsettle the club they report on. I can only assume they sat down somehow because there was a real change with how things were reported starting in '03.
I do notice that recently (under Rosell) they will still publish bizarre rumours more than during Laporta's rein which makes it tougher to get a pulse on what the club intends to do (By design?) but they'd never deliberately unsettle a player without legitimate confirmation - that's why I knew it was more than a rumour.
Played a bit for the NT as a youth, saw him live here en Suisse once too
Truth is, I never liked him as a player. He actually was used mostly as a central defender and was routinely a liability. I had read he had a falling out with Eusebio over lack of minutes with Barcelona B before leaving the club which wouldn't surprise me. I hope Eusebio leaves, honestly.
Doesn't surprise me that he's playing in midfield or as a DM, most of the cantera kids are all strong on the ball
Thiago will make a decision on his future after the Euro U21. He also wants more playing time with an eye on next year's World Cup. [md]
That puts it after the 18th of June
That puts it after the 18th of June
Why is 18th June significant?
Nobody see a tweet yesterday saying we'll meet Thiagos reps on Monday to push a deal through?
Nobody see a tweet yesterday saying we'll meet Thiagos reps on Monday to push a deal through?
Footballers that have been called up for a tournament always say they will decide after it's finished.
That doesn't stop their representatives from thrashing out the deal while it's going on.
Bloody Lucas Moura last summer was a great example of that- said he'd decide after the olympics, but he ended up agreeing to move (twice) during them
That doesn't stop their representatives from thrashing out the deal while it's going on.
Bloody Lucas Moura last summer was a great example of that- said he'd decide after the olympics, but he ended up agreeing to move (twice) during them
Will he play more this season? Unless Barca are looking to start to phase out Xavi more he won't but even in that case isn't Fabregas ahead of him. FCBarca what is your opinion on Vilanova as manager btw
Because it's when the tourney ends. Mazinho is his father & agent, doesn't mean negotiations won't be ongoing somewhere for his services but the player won't talk about it until after the tourney. It's possible he's already decided or it's an ongoing discussion, no one really knows
Well, considering he's been battling a life threatening illness over the past couple of years, hard to say if he's really been given enough time to be fully evaluated. The team was clicking very well ahead of the winter break and certainly Tito deserves credit there, you could see the players were pressing better and fighting to get results. Towards the end of the season (Especially starting in Feb/March), they looked tired or unmotivated. Was that a consequence of Tito's absence and being led by his #2 who wasn't even part of the coaching staff 6-8 months earlier? Hard to say for certain.
Even Tito has acknowledged he got things wrong, especially in terms of rotations and the young players (Tello, Montoya, Bartra & Thiago in particular). Was that because he faced heavy criticism and was pushed into making that admission? I don't know really.
He sees the game much like Pep, which made him a perfect #2. But just like being a backup singer, it's a whole other story to be on that stage alone and performing. Leo wasn't handled well in that Bayern tie, clearly. The tactics were missing and there were no changes from Tito to try & give a spark to the team - something he didn't hesitate to do in the 1st half of the season. Was the league too taxing that he didn't properly account for competition in Europe as well? Because their record in Europe was the poorest it's been in 5 seasons, even if they made it to the semifinals.
Personally, I'm uncertain whether he'll end up being the longterm solution many hoped but he definitely should be given the chance to show what he can do in year two when he's hopefully healthy for the entire season. It infuriated me the way he dealt with the rotations of the younger players, particularly the ones already mentioned - a big reason why I wouldn't fault Thiago for being unsettled. Even more so for Tello since he actually gave up 1st team football elsewhere to come back to the club he was deemed surplus to only play with the B team, at first.
There are fans, myself included, who are beginning to see a strategy being laid out by Rosell to deemphasize the cantera and play more in the open market with signings. It's unclear but there does seem to be several dominoes that have fallen leading the evidence to pile up in support of that. In particular, I feel pretty certain Pep left because of Rosell, as well. How much Tito has to tow that line is unclear but his longevity will be tied to how he fares in season 2 and so I don't think he can push back on Rosell the way Pep could.
We have been weighing up and preparing a bid since last week-how long does it take to make a bid.
Is Phelan managing this bid
Is Phelan managing this bid
Is it official that we have bid on Thiago?
It isn't even official that we have an interest in him.
We made a serious inquiry last year so i wouldn't see why not.
Getting Thiago would be immense, he's supremely talented.
I'd come. He just ticks all the boxes.
A direct replacement and upgrade on Anderson.
A direct replacement and upgrade on Anderson.
Is it official that we have signed Thiago on a 5 year deal?
Strange person to ask, I don't think he'll know the answer to that, he doesn't seem to be very ITK.
Really like him but I don't see him leaving Barca yet. He'll stay IMO.
This would be a fantastic signing. Thiago and a winger and we're good to go.
This is officially going to be the cocktease thread of the summer.
Since when did people from our club publicly announce interest? Occasionally a leaked 'enquiry', but 99% of the time, the club say nothing until deals are agreed.
That's why speculation is always stupidly ridiculous every single summer.
Excuse my ignorance but who is Thiago?
Plays for Barca. Plays for Spain but is of Brazilian decent iirc. Quality young player.
Did someone say Brazilian and Barcelona in the same sentence? Moysey, sign him up!
There's obviously a lot of bullshit but the press do get stuff right. I guess it's our job to try and sift through all the crap to genuine stories. This Thiago stuff does seem to have some legs in but then again so did Sneijder, Ozil, Sanchez and Hazard.
Assistant Jordi Roura at today's team pressy ahead of the local derby concerning Thiago:
Looks like the club has clearly positioned themselves to take a hard line with the player, don't like the feel for this one but it'll probably fuel fans like yourselves
Looks like the club has clearly positioned themselves to take a hard line with the player, don't like the feel for this one but it'll probably fuel fans like yourselvesSo that seems to confirm that this clause in his contract is more than just a rumour.
That was actually never a rumour. In fact, had he not been called up for the U21 and played both of the last 2 matches, he'd cross that 60% threshold to keep his buyout at 90 million
Ah, good news then. (For us, obviously, more than for you.)
There does seem to be more in this than the usual cloud of vague rumours. We know for a fact that United have inquired about his availability in the past. We know for a fact that he's thinking about trying to leave to get more playing time, thanks to various comments from within the club. We know that Barca aren't entirely against this because of the MD story. We know that Thiago might be available fairly cheap because of this playing time buy-out clause reduction.
It's on!
We do?
why wouldn't be interested? Central midfielder, insanely talented, decent price, Spanish, position we are weakest in, would instantly improve our team. If we're not interested it would be madness.
Criminal if we don't, at the very least, make a move here.
When it comes to being interested in central midfields Manchester United verge strongly on the side of madness.
Just read United reps are in Spain to discuss signing him.
Any source?
It's on!
Come on man - you know the drill. If you've "read" something, show us the damn source.
In terms of how well he plays in a deeper midfield role, the U21 tournament will be interesting to watch. Without Martinez and Mata this time, it seems a lot will fall on his shoulders.
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