Football (Soccer) Thread

[Sheilbh]

Messi told Barcelona he wants to leave on a free transfer via a fax. 

I thought only Japanese businessmen still used fax.

[Liep]

He has a year left on his contract and apparently his option to leave on a free ran out June 10th. But I hope he leaves and that we'll get to see him playing in a different league.

[Sheilbh]

He has a year left on his contract and apparently his option to leave on a free ran out June 10th. But I hope he leaves and that we'll get to see him playing in a different league.

From what I've seen - and no idea if this is true or nonsense - it depends on when the season "ends". Barca's view: June, Messi's view: August.

[The Larch]

How deliciously retro.

It's most probably a legal requirement, it's meant to be a notarized fax message or somesuch, that is supposed to carry legal weight.

Though I remember not long ago, a player whose transfer failed due to fax confirmation being sent 14 seconds too late. 

IIRC that was Real Madrid trying to sign Kepa from Athletic Bilbao on the last day of the transfer window.

[Duque de Bragança]

Champions' League preliminary rounds already started and some – formerly – big names are at risk or already fell.
Namely Celtic Glasgow, which caused some of its fans to joyfully despair:

"It's only 4 days since Bayern Munich won last season's Champions League, and Celtic are already out of this season's."

[Liep]

This Messi vs. Bartomeu is going to be a mess, right? Barca's board is actually making me cheer for City...

[The Larch]

This Messi vs. Bartomeu is going to be a mess, right? Barca's board is actually making me cheer for City...

It is already a mess.

[Josquius]

Time for Barcelona to burn the last of their cred as "the friendly giant"?

Really seem to be heading sharply down in recent years from the glory days of non sponsorship

[The Larch]

Friendly giant? 

[Sheilbh]

Friendly giant? 

I think common view outside of Spain for a while - as Tyr says non-sponsorship, the whole more than a club thing, plus the players they had and the style they played.

Certainly compared to the other European giants, Barcelona seemed wholesome.

[FunkMonk]

I must say, it is really nice to see Arsenal raise silverware yet again

*Even if it's a glorified friendly

[The Larch]

Friendly giant? 

I think common view outside of Spain for a while - as Tyr says non-sponsorship, the whole more than a club thing, plus the players they had and the style they played.

I'd say that's quite a superficial and naive perception, not to say very very partial. Few things made Barcelona stand out as a "good club", the no sponsor/UNICEF sponsor is long gone, the "more than a club" thing has taken a controversially political tinge lately with the rise of Catalan separatism, the players were awesome on the field but away from it many have acquired shadier sides over time (Xavi shilling like crazy for Qatar, or the fact that none of them seem to know what paying taxes means, only Iniesta has retained an unblemished reputation), and the style was indeed wonderful but has also become an obsession and a bit of a straightjacket for any kind of evolution (the moment a Barça coach makes players kick long passes you can picture journos opening their papers the next day claiming that Cruyff is rolling in his grave).

Certainly compared to the other European giants, Barcelona seemed wholesome.

I guess that the self-righteousness didn't quite translate. 

[Sheilbh]

Agree it's very partial and very superficial.

I also don't think Spanish attitudes to separatism translate elsewhere - I know from a UK perspective it's very alien - so that side of Barcelona isn't generally that controversial outside of Spain I don't think. And there's a very simplistic Real = Franco, Bilbao and Barca = anti-Franco (people overseas also love Bilbao). And again I think Spanish attitudes to Franco are probably more nuanced than for people overseas.

The tax thing has probably not cut through here because that just seems to be a thing of no-one in Spanish football was paying tax for a while - eg Ancelotti and Ronaldo and others. So I think people just kind of take it as a picturesque element of Spanish football

Totally agree on the hypocrisy with Xavi not just playing in Qatar but actively shilling for Qatar too. I'd also note Guardiola who is political and wore the yellow ribbon kicking off when asked about Abu Dhabi's human rights record. And I hink there's a strong view here you can't really have it both ways. You can't use your platform to make political statements and then say it's ridiculous to be asked questions about the state that owns the team you work for (similarly I find Arsenal's commitment to BLM admirable, but quite at odds with the two autocratic regimes on their shirt and the way they disowned Ozil after his statement - "Arsenal does not make political comments" or something similar).

Also agree on the style as straitjacket. I definitely think from within Spanish football it is far more nuanced, but I think that from outside Spain, Barca have had a very good brand and PR exercises. It might be superficial but I think it was quite strong (and always helped by playing incredibly - I think the attention on the other faults probably increased as the football faults have grown). I'm just glad that, as you say, Iniesta remains untarnished

I guess that the self-righteousness didn't quite translate. 

Fair. But you know I feel like it's not hard to be likeable option if you're competing against Madrid, Juve, Man City, PSG etc.

[celedhring]

I'm actually quite familiar with Barça's marketing operation and it's very slick and of course calculated and hypocritical. If only the sports side was as well run as the marketing side... 

And I'm a playing style mujahdeen, incidentally. 

[Tamas]

Barca is also lucky because the counterpoint to compare against is Real Madrid, a disgusting POS operation and team.