Lol.....you can't have it all. I dun mind if you call mah club disgusting, I would do the same. If you want to be great almost all the time, you have to resort to Thanos methods. Other clubs are very envious of Barca and Real, that's just the way it is and will be for years. You cannot be a Gentleman club like Ajax and let your stars leave every other year..... Ajax was great, really great once. I dun think they just decided to become a foster club, they were made that way. I dun think it's the right way but soccer should be more like the NBA where you can trade for players. At least teams will get at least something other than millions. BVB is not the smartest club, so I dun really feel sorry for them. I might agree with you that Barca isn't really out for CL titles only, they want to have the best stars, dominate everyone. Spain is known to treat celebrities lightly, they dun really have to go to jail due to tax evasion. If you call it shady, well, that is how their system works. I guess. Everything is in flux. Barca has seriously considered going off to a Catalan league only.
There's a drastic difference between that and openly telling players to strike their way out of a club by going awol. It's just disgusting and should lead to severe punishments.
I dun think it is all true what you read in your papers, sometimes the manager of that said player told him to go to Barca and strike...... And I say that because I like LFC and to an extent BVB of the past with Hitzfeld but they are just 2nd tier at that. I think Barca and Real have built brands that are the best in the world...... Man U and PSG are doing work there too, Man City........others just lag behind. Unfortunately. And of course they have the most money. (allegedly) Well, it ain't worth a conversation as other players have striked as well..... Mahrez for instance. That is apparently what some players do nowadays.
If there is evidence of criminal intent, well, I would want them punished too, but you got to have more evidence than just reports. @Yung-T breh If you see some migrant worker, construction worker, or worker of other business doing work but not doing it under contract or anything, tax evading, do you even care? Well, the financial department would care but we do not.
Yea but you have to take a look at how they were able to do it. If you read up on their shady deals with the government, banks and the Uefa, it's pretty clear that they should have been banned years ago and were only able to stay powerhouses because of illegal activities.
The thing is the government is Gawd, they decide what is legal and illegal......I dun like it either...... But I think the Spanish Government is pro Madrid and Catalan powerhouse is more on its own.....as we have seen with the referendum, Barca was this close to being sent away. Spoiler I would think Barca is not alone on UEFA or FIFA's list. Spain is not as strong an economy as perhaps Germany, so they are in need of powerhouses in economy, sports and culture. The way to work around laws is different, Germany is a strict country, the South is not. Also mentalitywise, just another ball park. I am not in the banking business or the Futball legal business to know more, so I won't be throwing things out there, that I do not know much about. But I know that there are ways for a player to get a FIFA licence for a new club, being still under contract to the old club. Unethical perhaps but very much doable.
Robben and Rafinha also extended their contract for 1yr, guess the band will be back. Sky also saying Madrid has ended negotiations with Lewandowski and backed off.
True, although I would've liked to see Lewandowski gone. Can't see how him staying helps team chemistry.
No quality forward available to replace him, so we just have to hope that he remains at least professional on the pitch.
And nobody (except those who are short sighted) is throwing 100 million at a 29 yr old no matter how good he is....... if he were 5 years younger that would be a whole other story.
Real Madrid, winner of the last 2 CLs are not many clubs though. Higuain already played in the Serie A, and Juve could just go over to Napoli and watch him. There is a certain risk if someone bombs..... I can think of enough players playing mediocre at Madrid.... Kaka, yours truly Robben, Robinho, Beckham to name a few.......who could have played elsewhere. To be fair, Robben played well enough IMO but they were still not satisfied after just two seasons. He did not score his best goals there.
I did not say that, Ex Madrid keeper Bodo Ilgner with his manager wife at his side, said that with other 'experts' on the Markus Lanz show. Said nobody big (and not desperate) is going to pay Lewan around 80-100 million if they could go after the likes of Salah, Kane, Hazard, KDB.....who are younger and on an upswing. Said it at the night of Bayern's defeat. Getting them is another story.
Except for Kane, all these guys are midfielders and I'm pretty sure 80-100mil would only net you Hazard. If you need a world-class striker, there aren't many options.
These clubs send their scouts and connections and watch a player all-year if they really like him, plus you have video footage.
Wingers and midfielders are the key now........ They could go the Man City way and net a younger forward guy from South America. Or a league middle of a pack dweller. You dun have to own a world class forward if you got a world class midfield.... you could go for a very good one. He could be made/nurtured to be 'great'.
So, decision day in Bundesliga. The international ranks and the relegation seedings are determined today. Something historic could happen with Hamburger SV being relegated, they are the only founding member of the Bundesliga to play there continuosly since the first season ever 1963. The last couple of years HSV somehow avoided the 2. Bundesliga, but I think today will be their farewell. They need to win against Gladbach and meanwhile hope for Köln (already going down dead last) to beat Wolfsburg. I adore the nine game simulcast, most fun part of the season to me. Really looking forward to it, even though the outcome of some games are irrelevant.