Barcelona football club will tap themselves at the back for a great job at the just concluded transfer window. Club president, Joan Laporta and the sporting director, Mateu Alemany were the architect of this huge success....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The club was declared bankrupt and cash strapped prior to the transfer window. It appears that the Catalan club were finished and will remain in comatose for long, at least that was the prediction of bookmakers.
Laporta swung into action, got the club board into agreeing that few of the club’s assets be sold so as to raise money. They also did some financial tweaks, raising cash, balancing accounting books and most importantly staving the fiery hammer of the authorities.
They got Christensen and Kessie for free and agreed a descent salary with them. Barcelona also convinced Bayern Munich to part with their prized number 9, Lewandowski. Alemany found a way to hijack both Jules Kounde and Raphinha’s deals from the high spending Chelsea football club. Also, last minute deadline day saw Alonso and Bellerin join the club.
Also, some players like; Braithwaite, Umititi, Lenglet, Dest, Abde, Nico Gonzalez, Puig, Aubameyang etc departed either on loan or for good. Barcelona is healthy, they gained vital minerals(new signings) and winnowed excess fat(unwanted players).
Most importantly, they kept intact the nucleus of the team and never made the silly mistake of letting high profile players like Frenkie De Jong, Dembele, Depay (especially with the exit of Aubameyang he can play as a nine in addition to being in the wings) leave.
Barcelona is strong with at least two key players in each department. Competition for a place in the squad is good. It will be interesting seeing Barcelona rival Real Madrid and revamp their Champions League woes.
