Thiago Alcantara

The Mirror is reporting that Man United have made an official as made a £15million offer to Barcelona for midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

United have offered a straight cash deal to Barcelona for Alcantara. Barca are said to be reluctant to sell to a ­Champions League rival, but they are also trying to raise cash to buy Udinese's Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas.

By Chris Wright

Spanish newspaper 'AS' is widely known to be firmly entrenched in Real Madrid's corner as far as footballing allegiances go, and their ridiculously partisan bias was given yet another airing on Monday.

The paper have been forced to apologise for photoshopping Athletic Bilbao defender Koikili out of the photo (above) they used to illustrate just how 'offside' Barca's Dani Alves was in the build-up to the Catalan side's opening goal last weekend the swines.

Thiago Alcantara

The Mirror is reporting that Man United have made an official as made a £15million offer to Barcelona for midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

United have offered a straight cash deal to Barcelona for Alcantara. Barca are said to be reluctant to sell to a ­Champions League rival, but they are also trying to raise cash to buy Udinese's Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas.

It's all black and white at Barca Barcelona appear to be living by the phrase 'look after the cents and the Euros will look after themselves' after club president Sandro Rosell boasted about the money that he has saved by banning colour photocopying at the Camp Nou. Any bid for Cesc Fabregas this summer could [.

Here is another twist in the intense rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona, which will culminate when the two sides meet in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday night. Amidst all the hoopla involving Pepe's red card for a challenge on Barca's Daniel Alves, Real Madrid have reportedly accused Barcelona midfielder [.

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So that was how the season ended for Real Madrid. Sadly, it's another bridesmaid finish for us with the eternal rival taking all the plaudits and the bigger one, among the 2 domestic titles that were up for grabs at the start of the season. Nevermind that the Copa Del Rey trophy pre-Sergio Ramos looks far more elegant to the gangly and grotesque-looking La Liga trophy (complete with studs) – winning La Liga is still the ultimate proof that Barcelona this season were the better team.

Lionel Messi's list of accomplishments is breathtaking, and the scary thing is, he's far from done.

Between all of the goals (180 of them in seven seasons with Barcelona), assists, mazy runs, two World Player of the Year awards, three UEFA Champions League titles and a various array of other trophies, it's hard to believe that Messi is just 24.

By Chris Wright

The Daily Mirror are going big today with news that Samir Nasri has 'hinted' that he may quit Arsenal for Barcelona in the summer if the Gunners successfully pip Manchester United to the Premier League title a claim they are backing with quotes taken from an interview that Nasri gave to a free, weekly sports magazine entitled Sports Magazine.

Unless you were living under a rock last summer, you probably heard that Cesc Fabregas was linked with F.C. Barcelona. The Fabregas saga was one of the biggest stories of the transfer season last year as there were months of on-going speculation about his future. At the time, Fabregas was frankly on top of the world.

The midfields of both Real Madrid and Barcelona are beginning to resemble Japanese trains at rush hour. If Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola continue to pack more and more players in, it is likely they will struggle to keep each one happy and in form. Something has to give. So who will survive the cull, and who will earn starting midfield berths in 2011-12?

There is an absolutely amazing interview with Cesc Fabregas Spanish magazine Don Balon in which the Gunners captain blast Arsene Wenger.

Here are some of his comments:

"It [Wenger's position] is now easier to understand because I've been here for many years," said Fabregas.

This is the new black Barcelona jersey 11/12, the first time in several years that that we will be seeing FC Barcelona wear a black away top. Internet sites had for long rumoured that the new Barca away jersey 2011/2012 would be black in colour and Nike have confirmed this rumour with the official release [.

By Chris Wright

David Luiz and best friend, Barney

Perhaps somewhat inevitable given that Chelsea suddenly became interesting again, but the gossip hounds of the land are having a field day this morning.

Take the Sun for example, who seem adamant that Barcelona are putting together a £27.

When Manchester United line-up against Barcelona next week, the focus will be on how the Premier League champions can keep Lionel Messi from having too much of an impact on proceedings. Many teams have tried and failed to stop the Argentinean from weaving his magic and if United don't manage it, then it is hard to see any other result than a Barca win.

Wonderful article from the Defensive Minded Blog about Barcelona defending system at corner kicks. What is interesting that it stated that according to a study, that Barcelona is on average, the team with shortest heights in Europe. Despite that shortfall, Barcelona was always a solid defense team that is very difficult to score goal against, especially from corner kicks.

By Chris Wright

Word has just broken that, after a morning spent tip-toeing around the houses, Newcastle have finally accepted a bid of £35 million from Liverpool for their bruising target man Andy Carroll.

It's worth noting that neither club has confirmed the reports, though both the Guardian and the Telegraph (amongst many others) are reporting that the two clubs have agreed on the meaty fee, and that the move is now almost certain to go through duly 'paving the way' for Fernando Torres to complete his prospective move to Chelsea before the transfer deadline passes tonight (at 23:00 BST).

It's a relief Barca keeps its best moves on the pitch because Gerard Pique, Shakira's present love interest and his team mates tried matching her booty shaking in a failing effort. Xavi was on stage but the rest of the heavenly triangle Messi and Iniesta were absent. Busquets too having decided being upright for one evening was enough.

Long before Sara Carbonero... there was Mamen Sanz! She's the equivalent of Victoria Beckham when it comes to the Spanish Mega Wag status (eye-rolls all across the town again, we see) but there's a lot more to her than meets the eye. Raul has been linked to a high money-making move to Qatar next season, and the worried German press who want him to stay at Schalke, it seems has declared that his wife has the final say it all of this.

It can be done! For years it has seemed that it was impossible to take possession of a football away from Barcelona star Xavi. But last night his team-mate Sergio Busquets gave a masterclass in how to nick the ball from the midfield magician. Europe's elite will have been watching closely as Busquets managed to [.

In tonight's Champions League match against Shakhtar former Barcelona player Dmytro Chygrynskiy will be tasked with marking Lionel Messi. Chygrynskiy also happens to be one of a long line of poor transfer decisions that Barcelona have made in past couple of years.

Barcelona loves to note that its battle with Real Madrid is more than just soccer; it is almost a clash of identities.

Between Gervinho's forehead and Juan Mata's chin (above) Arsenal
should score a number of goals

The 10 day deadline set by Arsenal seems to have worked as Barca after forging a war by proxy actually flew in Josep Maria Bartomeu, their vice president and director Raul Sanllehi to London to negotiate for Cesc Fabregas's transfer.

El Clásico is coming to the Copa del Rey as Barcelona will meet Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final for the first time in 21 years. The last time they met was in 1990 and Barcelona won 2-0. Jose Mourinho will be hoping that history does not repeat itself! This years final will come four days after the two sides meet in the Spanish league.

Only Paul Gardner could find something critical in a match that pits Barcelona and Arsenal against each other.
I thought the game was a brilliant display for long stretches of the match, and didn't feel that Arsene Wenger's tactics negated the aesthetics that both teams have the ability to create.

It is very difficult, as an Englishman, not to get carried away when assessing Jack Wilshire's performance in Arsenal's first leg victory over Barcelona. The 19 year-old showed composure, skill, tenacity, technical brilliance and did I mention composure to rival that of the man he was playing opposite, Xavi Hernandez.

With actual MLS clubs involved in competition for the first time in months, we got to wondering whether the Champions League, which has struggled to capture even hard care MLS supporters, could ever be a draw European soccer fans. Out of town with only intermittent internet access, we thought now would be a good time to re-run Part III from our 2009 Bringing the Fans series.

Guardiola awkwardly watches Sergio Busquets and Mourinho
nuzzle noses in a memorable moment of the match
After my makeshift preview of El Clasico, things turned out exactly as I didn't think they would. While I was expecting an exciting battle between two sides wanting to crush each other, it turned out to be a fairly tiring affair to watch, especially the first half.

MatchFit USA reported in late April that Ben Lederman, a 10-year-old American, recently joined Barecelona's fabled La Masia academy. My reaction to this? CAP. HIM. NOW. Seriously. We've seen it happen repeatedly with players like Giuseppe Rossi and Nevin Subotic choosing European national teams over the red, white, and blue.

This is the new Barcelona shirt 2011/2012 by Nike, featuring Qatar Foundation as the new shirt sponsors. The new Barca shirt 2011/2012 will be officially revealed tonight ( May 17, 2011) at the Nou Camp, but this photo of the new home top was on sale at Nike's website. Photos of both the front and [.

LONDON, England Harry Redknapp has already pulled off the transfer coup of the summer, sources have told ESPNsoccernet, by snatching Barcelona youngster Cristian Ceballos from under the noses of Chelsea. Ceballos, 16, was hailed as Barcelona's new superstar four years ago when he became an internet sensation, featuring in a video juggling a ball [.

Ahead of the Champions League Final on the 28th May...

Reputation is everything in football. Sergio Busquets would rather you not talk about his, though. Not long ago, the 22-year-old was celebrated solely for his talents. Robust in the tackle, an eye for a pass and blessed with "an excellent first touch and great balance", according to Xavi Hernandez.

There hasn't been many peeps out from the Camp Nou regarding Cesc Fabregas lately but I'm sure there will be over the summer.
I have heard and seen little snippets. Apparently after the Champions League final Carles Puyol said: "I'm convinced Cesc will play with us soon."
It does make me wonder though.

Following the latest development in the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga, which suggests that Arsenal are finally ready to negotiate the sale of their skipper to Barcelona, speculation is rife about the identity of a big-name replacement being targetted by manager Arsene Wenger.

In the past, Wenger has been known to prefer developing young players rather than buying immediate replacements for former stars such as Thierry Henry and Mathieu Flamini.

The next Cescs? Five fab Barca youngsters set to make a mark in the Prem

If the old football saying rings true, then England may well have invented it, Brazil arguably perfected it, but Spain are dominating it. The one-time perennial under achievers of the international stage now boast the World Cup and the European Championships at senior, Under-21 and Under-19 level, as well as being on course to lift the ongoing Under-20 World Cup, currently being played in Colombia.

Barcelona have finalised an agreement for the transfer of Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal, according to reports in Spain.

Arsene Wenger earlier revealed that he hoped the long-running saga would be resolved very soon and later confirmed his skipper would play no part in Saturday's Premier League opener against Newcastle at St James' Park.

Ich kenne Vilanova nicht. Aber Ich war sehr höflich, habe mich wie ein Mann verhalten und bin nicht zu Boden gegangen.

Jose Mourinho, Trainer von Real Madrid, erzählt wie er den Streit nach dem Supercup-Spiel FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid erlebt hat. Bei diesem Streit soll Mourinho Barca´s Co-Trainer Tito Vilanova die Finger in die Augen gestochen haben und ihn an den Ohren gezogen haben.

Barcelona vs Napoli 5-0 Highlights Goals 2011 Joan Gamper Trophy Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Barcelona vs Napoli 5-0 Highlights Goals 2011 Joan Gamper Trophy Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Barcelona vs Napoli 2011 ( Barca vs SSC Napoli 2011) 2011 Joan Gamper Trophy- Nou Camp, August 21, 2011 Final score and result:- Barcelona vs Napoli 5-0 ( Cesc Fabregas, Seydou Keita, Pedro, [.

Ibrahimovic could derail Liverpool bid for Barca star

Swedish forward keen to reunite with Nou Camp teammate

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-12-27 13:16:44 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Following on from the news broken by Wrighty7 that the former Newell's Old Boys has agreed a 5 year contract with the Ashburton Grove team AA has gained exclusive access to an interview conducted with the pocket sized maestro and his agent Jorge Mendes explaining the reasons for his departure from the team newly sponsored by the Al Thani family of Qatar.

Christian Eriksen v Glen Johnson's pride.

[101gg]

• Battle of the presses. (Guardian)
• A French bromance. (The French Connection)
• Pinpointing the wolf. (Philosofooty)
• End of an era. (Just Football)
• The Barca of L1. (ESPN)
• Quiz part one.

Click here to watch Arsenal v Barcelona Live!

As we build up to Wednesday's massive Arsenal v Barcelona match, here's a look at the some of the head 2 head stats between Barcelona and Arsenal players.

Robin van Persie v Lionel Messi

In Robin Van Persie, Arsenal have a striker in the form of his career, with the Dutchman netting a fantastic 10 goals in the league in 2011 so far.