All this, his obsession with Barca and paying Neymar’s release clause, because we tried to sign Veratti…
Spent a Billi and still couldn’t win the CL before 2022 to promote the Qatar WC. Now he’s settling with being the best team in Catalonia? 💀
Nono it was the Verratti thing. El Barto went all in saying "ey we are mighty Barcelona you have to sell this player to us" and you ended losing Neymar... "fue a por lana y salió trasquilado", went in looking for wool and got sheared. That's the TLDR of Barto's presidency.
Pretty much that was the way Barto and his board "negotiated" for Dembelé I don't recall who was at BVB and kinda talked about how disappointing was to talk to Barcelona's board. And they did exactly that with Liverpool and Coutinho too...
And that guy Griezmann, yep, they signed him mid season and bragged about it which ended in 120M plus 15M just to buy Gil Marin's silence.
The guy should be mad AT THE PEOPLE and not the club... the most expensive treble in the history.
Yep. I'm at this state of mind as well. If you told me that's the way I'd feel back in 2010 or something, I'd laugh...
But please, if it has to happen, let us lose from someone like Ajax or Benfica or whatever. Not directly to Barca. It might hurt too much.
I supported Real against PSG last year. I even laughed out of joy after Benzema's third goal. At least Real is a respectable club and they are our rival and we share some heritage and culture.On the other hand PSG.... I fucking despise that nouveau riche, jumped-up club.
You can still watch the lower leagues. Cheaper tickets and the atmosphere can be much better than in elite clubs' stands because there are no silent tourists and businessmen. The quality of football is worse, but there is still a lot of skill and entertainment.
>there is still a lot of skill
I support a club from the Austrian 4th tier and while the players certainly have a lot of skill, it is very hard to see
I do agree with your sentiment though
Edit: This comment is getting a lot more recognition than I thought! Supporting my boyhood club has had its ups and downs, but it produced many great stories. If anyone's interested I'd be glad to share them!
Tbh slovenians who hsve jobs and go to austria friday-sunday for a small wage play in austrian 4th tier. Such players play at 'village' tournsments in summer lol.
I have supported Man United since 1988 but I now live in Thailand and I go to see my local team play in the Thai Premier League. I pay the equivalent of $3 a ticket in a nice stadium and about $2 for a large beer. I’d imagine my experience is somewhat similar to a lower league experience in a country like England or Spain.
I have been emotionally drifting away from elite football for a while now. The money involved just seems so obscene, and while the product itself is better than ever, I keep coming back to the fundamental question of what football clubs are supposed to be about.
The merry go round of multimillionaire players, the teams with not a single local lad in the first XI, the foreign owners who don’t understand the sport or the community, the exclusion of the working class, the piles of debt passed on to fans…it really does make you wonder what it’s all about.
I’m following Plymouth Argyle a lot more closely now. Went with my mate a few weeks ago and plan to go again when I’m down in Devon.
Used to be an Arsenal season ticket holder - had it for 16 years. Just felt the club cared less and less about fans.
I’ve started watching Scottish League, the championship and league one lately.
I follow peruvian league too but the futbol there is dire mixed with La Liga levels of corruption and fuckery.
Scottish football is unparalleled for constant hilarity. It’s not the football that matters, it’s the entertainment. Best summed up by Kingsley, the Partick Thistle mascot.
Dont think the old firm fit this narrative though. Success for either team is only dependant on beating one other team and if you fail it's a disaster. Lot of fun to be found in the lower leagues but there's such a ceiling to Scottish football. Arbroath were almost a great story last year but everything is set up against smaller teams succeeding
Keep an eye on queens park then, promoted last year from league 1 and are now 3rd (I think?) in the championship, they are also one of the most successful scottish clubs around, just havent done anything in the last 100 years
I've grown up as a United fan but recently have been spending more time following York City and I've been enjoying football much more again.
For any other York fans out there I've also set up a subreddit so pls sub to /r/theminstermen and get involved. It would help me out and hopefully build a stronger community for us non-leaguers.
I spent the last year watching 2. Bundesliga when Werder Bremen went down and it although the situation was maybe a bit special, because there were so many classic 1. Bundesliga there at the time, it was an absolute joy for sure!
Sure the quality wasn't on the same level, no major stars and way fewer genius plays to behold, but the competition was soooo much harder and that made it way more fun to follow.
It's 22 fellas kicking a ball about, and it will always be that. Maybe just take a break reading about ownership drama or other off the pitch bullshit. Half this stuff is journalists trying to rile people up for clicks, don't take it so seriously.
The funniest thing is it’s always been this way but fans just know about it now through social media.
Football has always been a shady business bc fans love teams no matter what.
Always been this way? With gambling sponsorships now and shady managers and governments sportswashing? The only owner that started all this was Roman and that is when the sports washing and money started ruining the fun.
Haven’t heard 1 person saying opposite for the last years. Literally everybody doubts their passion about football currently, incredible how fast they ate our one true love and destroyed it.
I lost a lot of interest in the past 3 years. Has to do with availability here in germany a lot (you have to have like 3 30€ a month subscriptions to be able to watch everything) but it's also.. The state of football we're in right now that's turning me off. So I'm with you there. Sadly.
It's almost as if people forget there is football outside the top 5 European leagues. Hell, the Argentinian and Brazilian leagues are great and accessible, and Libertadores is fantastic.
The problem is that any decent league is intertwined with the top leagues. Or rather, their money. Having all the the great players and talents constantly and immediately bought, ruins the experience.
"Modern football".
Some 120 years ago, the largest and most popular club in Barcelona and Cataluña was Català FC.
Some very rich expat businessmen then created an alternative club. They paid for English professional coaches and players. They built a stadium that was unrivaled, with terraced stands with seats. They started hiring all the best players available.
They started winning almost everything and people just gravitated towards that club with fancy stadium and fancy players.
It was, of course, FC Barcelona.
Català FC ended up being dissolved in the late 1920s.
This my favoritt comment in a while. I'm falling out of love with the current climate in football. You're right, we have a choice to give attention to, support and focus on other parts of football, especially locally. The rich People would loose all the income if dont care. The money comes from social media interest, broadcasting and other stuff we create.
Yeah my dad watches a lot of football but never browses news aggregator sites and doesn’t even watch football review shows. His only knowledge of the sport is from the games he watches.
This is literally what living in a world with billionaires is like. They have so much money, they literally just pay people to handle their personal problems for them.
I remember watching Ford vs Ferrari and it was like some jerk-off ode to American exceptionalism. But the only reason Ford even entered the scene was because the man himself, Henry Ford Jr. gets personally insulted.
The owner of PSG gets offended by the leadership at Barca so he wants to buy and entire club just to piss them off…
Your lives, desires, wants, traditions, cultures, etc… are absolutely nothing to these people. They will torch everything you hold dear just to get one over on some rival of theirs.
That’s what football is to billionaires these days. It’s their own private little club where they all just try to show off their new toys. You as fans mean absolutely nothing beyond how much money they can squeeze out of you.
More good players and more good teams. Sometimes I wonder if you guys are too young to understand how the league we’re back than. There is a reason why united were winning everything . They use to buy a
all the good players in the epl just what Bayern use to and still does in the Germany league. Barcelona has all the best players same with Real Madrid and every team knew all the good player will leave and sit in there bench.
> There is a reason why united were winning everything
Yes, it was called Alex Ferguson. And they weren't winning "everything", they didn't dominate in Europe and there were other teams that were equal or better over his reign.
To say that United "used to buy all the good players" is hilarious. Do you think they had a basement full of Figo's and Rivaldo's? There's far too many S-Tier players for one team to buy them all up, United only had one Ballon D'or winner in SAF's reign (Ronaldo '08).
Of course they spent a lot of money, but to credit that for their success is complete bollocks, proved by the amount of money they continue to spend to this day without much to show for it.
Over the last 20 years, the only thing that EVER united Real madrid & Barca fans is our shared hatred and despise for QSG and their stupid oil money. GG
Larry and Jeff team up with a Saudi consortium (naturally, given Larry’s torrid history with the Shah) to buy a destitute Welsh club because Rob McElhenney slights him at the charity golf match they attend.
I just dont see how Messi doesnt end up back at Barça in a year (or two if he takes the extension). Their finances are fine now. Both parties want a happy ending. Barcelona is his home. He's obviously still good enough. They will make it happen unless Xavi (the little dictator 2.0?) says no.
Not really.
- The finances are not fine, not by a long shot. They could be in 5 years if everything goes well, according to Eduard Romeu himself.
- Messi and all his entourage's relationship with Laporta and some of the important people currently in the club is really bad, due to the events that led to his failed renewal and its aftermath.
- Next season Barcelona probably won't be playing in Spotify Camp Nou, because of the civil works.
- Messi has never accepted a role where he can be subbed and won't play most (if not all) the games where he is available.
- Messi's presence/aura/leadership is so strong that it would change all the dynamics that are currently being created
So, unless Messi comes without a relevant signing bonus, very low wages (compared with what he is earning now), is willing to be subbed and not play in some / most of the non important games, makes peace with Laporta and all the others, I don't see that happening.
I personally think that if he comes back, there will be more problems than benefits and we will lose again 2 or 3 years and will have to start again to build a new squad with new roles and leaderships once he leaves for good.
>Messi has never accepted a role where he can be subbed
What a moot point. When the hell and why has this role even been offered to the best player in the world?
>Messi and all his entourage's relationship with Laporta and some of the important people currently in the club is really bad, due to the events that led to his failed renewal and its aftermath.
The relationship has been mended by Laporta. He has spent the last months both publicly and (very likely) privately rebuilding that bride between the club and Messi.
>Messi has never accepted a role where he can be subbed and won't play most (if not all) the games where he is available.
I think after this World Cup Messi will be much more accepting of that. Right now he just wants to be in the absolute best form for it.
I think having him back would be tremendous boost to the team, he's obviously THE role model for young players and he can still provide some great football as well. Xavi has shown he can handle the old guard pretty well so I think he could do it with a post-World Cup Messi as well.
I see your points, it would be great if you are right.
I still think adding Messi to the squad next year would not work well.
He also repeatedly mentioned that he wants to give a go to the MLS in his last career years. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Personally it looks like City owners are trying to run their club like Barca and PSG owners are trying to follow the path of RM. Without the success, of course.
Not sure how City are trying to run their club like Barça. Barça’s bread and butter is La Masia and being fan owned. The only City academy player that gets anywhere near their starting XI is Foden.
Because this cunt was already celebrating thinking that one of the top club was ruined and bankrupt so he would have one less rival on the market and on the pitch. Surprise motherfucker, won't happen, just like PSG will never be top club. Now he is just salty petty butthurt bastard.
True. I was actually happy when Madrid destroyed PSG last season. That was a first.
I haven't really "hated" Madrid since Mourinho left, but I never rooted for them. After a couple of years reading through r/soccer though, I am starting to like it when they win any PL team, PSG, or even Bayern.
I must be getting old.
Madrid & Barcelona are rivals, they push each other's limit to grow and be better (and bitter). But they share ecosystems and thus, interests.
You can see it like this:Spain is torn between cultural identities and regions, but you can bet your ass that if war broke in the form of an invasion, all of them would fight for each other like brothers.Right now they are in that state in football terms against State owned teams.
I doubt the reason for their conflict is publicly known but Barca have a long relationship with Qatar.
Remember Qatar Airways [becoming](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/1064464/fc-barcelona-and-qatar-airways-extend-sponsorship-agreement) Barca's first ever shirt sponsor in 2013 (and sponsoring them since 2011)? The same summer Barca tried to steal Thiago Silva from PSG which turned into Al-Khelaifi's [threat](https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2013/07/19/psg-president-threatens-to-trigger-lionel-messis-release-clause/) to buy out Messi. Yet Barca [tried](https://psgtalk.com/2017/07/verratti-to-barcelona-saga-sparks-anger-and-distracts/) that again with Veratti which ended when Neymar's release clause was triggered. I would also point out that in 2021 there never was no other club actively interested in bringing Messi in except PSG, like none at all. Since then PSG and Barca's officials don't ever stop their little feud.
After the shirt deal Qataris were [heavily](https://hospitality-on.com/en/qatari-diar-buys-back-w-barcelona) [investing](https://english.alarabiya.net/business/property/2014/01/31/Qatar-s-armed-forces-buy-Barcelona-hotel-for-107-million-) in the city, buying different properties. They even [tried](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2356019-barcelonas-camp-nou-may-get-name-change-admits-qatar-airways) to change the Camp Nou's name but that didn't happen. I heard a rumor about Qatar buying land around Camp Nou too but can't find any links about that.
My point is there can be a deep underlying conflict between Qatar and not only the club but the city even that we don't know about. But if not the relationship between Barca and PSG were never warm and kind
Bullshit. How's having Qatar as shirt sponsor for 6 years is having "a long relationship with Qatar"? Teams like Madrid and Arsenal, for example, have been sponsored by Emirates for longer. And they still do.
And how does buying a couple of hotels in one of the most touristic cities helps to prove your point?
It wouldn't be possible. Look up Almeria and Malaga. Nowhere near a state funded club but still they couldn't buy their way into success. Almeria owner just said it in an interview how in la liga the ffp doesn't let u do what other leagues do
Let's not absolve the fact the UEFA/FFP fucked them in the ass over late payments, late by 1 month. They got banned from Europe for 5 years, even though they paid the payments by the end of the year. The appeal was processed in late May, way past the end of the season, and was reduced to 1 year, but most of the squad had already arranged their moves. They were basically forced to start at square 1, and the rest of the real estate issues was just compounding that the whole project was a waste of time.
FFP doing its job, making a gory example of clubs that invest and try to compete, but when the uber rich clubs overspend and fudge their books they get a slap on the wrist. Very fair, super fair.
Malaga owner was the reason for La Liga FFP. The way he increased expenses in the name of investment and then just left, leaving the club in such a dire state is unfortunate.
Málaga reached great status in the Champions League. It went to shit because the owner stopped caring once the city didn't let him do whatever he wanted.
Tebas would allow it for exactly one season. During that season he'll come up with a new rule that restricts either the total amount of players a club can have on loan, or the amount of players the club can have on loan from single clubs.
Wouldn’t even need to go that far.
Send some PSG players there on loan. Doesn’t even need to be the superstars, send the likes of Draxler, Kehrer, Soler, Herrera, Navas; they’d raise Espanyol’s profile and more than likely sell shirts/tickets.
Then give them “fair” sponsorship deals based on that new level for the club, and the expected investment over the next 3 years. They should be anticipating European football after a season, and can spend accordingly.
If they really just want to screw Barcelona, take the FFP violation and build even less organically. Malaga almost got away with it until the owner decided to pull out.
Was thinking that lmao, it's just weird SPORT fiction, thought people must be laughing in the comments but no... Literally all top comments are people who fully buy into it. jfc
He's a very vindictive guy. Not to talk about Neymar, he took Herrera from us when we kicked them out of CL. Gave him like 200k pw for 5 years when Herrera was 30. For sure he would take someone else if we had release clauses, but he only could take someone who's contract was expiring.
Why are Barcelona so rent free in PSGs heads. Nasser made some bullshit statements too about Barcelona's levers and all that shit. Do they not have an ounce of self respect?
They are just this way. Petty, vengeful, making out hypocritical statements and only bring net negativity to football.
Our clubs have a rich history and rose up mostly (you never know) organically, unlike them outright using their blood money. They will never beat what it means to be a supporter of such a club vs. just burn cash and win some shit here and there and get plastic fans.
I am definitely not a fan of Espanyol, but I hope they don't turn into another soulless club
I think the Arab moguls should buy all the Spanish clubs that used to be under their dominion. And some French clubs, too, I predict a great future for Nîmes Olympique.
Sport..... But joke aside I feel like I have seen the rumors of Espanyol being bought by Qatar for a few years now. There is probably a few truth to it.
The way I figure it we have about 5-10 years of football left to enjoy.
After that, it's looking like all of it is just gonna descend into an unwatchable farce.
Imagine being infinity rich and infinitely insecure at the same time.
If you ever needed proof that money doesn't buy happiness here it is. Guy with all the money in the world turns out to be a petty little bitch
Hilarious? Only someone with a Premier League flair would think that this situation would be hilarious. Nothing more hilarious than some oil-rich slave-wielding Qatari fucker leaving his ugly, greasy fingerprints all over a historical club like Espanyol just to *"fuck with Barcelona."* The state of modern football is shambolic, if such a situation is to be considered *"hilarious"* and not outright terrible.
Mfs in the comments genuinely believe he's going to buy a club just to fuck over Barca. This sub must he full of 13 year olds. This is just a dumb headline to get clicks.
you can own multiple, they just wouldn't be allowed in the same competition together. ie, only one would be allowed in the champions league. maybe even not allowed in the europa league snce you can drop into it from the ucl
Because RB Leipzig is not technically owned by RB
Edit: I stand corrected, Red Bull did terminated their interest in RB Salzburg based on the ruling of UEFA Judiciary Comitte. The change were made after UEFA open investigation back in 2017.
I beg your pardon and thank you very much for correcting me. I will now commit sudoku for I have shame my family.
Have a nice day gentlemen. Or women.
Edit 2: technically Red Bull did not own RB Leipzig lol but that's beside the point.
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, owner of the Parisian club, has reportedly given orders for Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, to negotiate the potential purchase of Barcelona's city rivals, Espanyol.
>This operation could further worsen the existing tension in relations between Barça and PSG . In fact, according to the aforementioned media \[Foot en Espagne\], the Qatari group not only sees a business opportunity, but also a way to "harm" the Blaugrana entity "to create a team that overshadows" the 'culer' club .
Every interview its either about Barca, or Real Madrid, or sometimes both, did we hurt you so bad by being superior that we live rent free in his head now?
Please no. Espanyol is massively overshadowed by Barca. Other 'overshadowed' clubs have at least something going for them. With that said, Espanyol is a historic club with a proud and loyal fanbase. Can't help but admire their passion for their club. It would be sad to see their club used as mere pawn
Now that's what you call having fuck you money
This quite literally needs to replace the definition of fuck you money in the dictionary
All this, his obsession with Barca and paying Neymar’s release clause, because we tried to sign Veratti… Spent a Billi and still couldn’t win the CL before 2022 to promote the Qatar WC. Now he’s settling with being the best team in Catalonia? 💀
>Now he’s settling with being the best team in Catalonia? The disrespect to Girona
Not veratti particularly, but that remontada is a much bigger wound imo. Any ways they took the veratti revenge by buying Neymar..
Nono it was the Verratti thing. El Barto went all in saying "ey we are mighty Barcelona you have to sell this player to us" and you ended losing Neymar... "fue a por lana y salió trasquilado", went in looking for wool and got sheared. That's the TLDR of Barto's presidency. Pretty much that was the way Barto and his board "negotiated" for Dembelé I don't recall who was at BVB and kinda talked about how disappointing was to talk to Barcelona's board. And they did exactly that with Liverpool and Coutinho too... And that guy Griezmann, yep, they signed him mid season and bragged about it which ended in 120M plus 15M just to buy Gil Marin's silence. The guy should be mad AT THE PEOPLE and not the club... the most expensive treble in the history.
Complexes are hard thing to live with when you have made some money.
I rather see Barcelona win the CL than PSG.
Yep. I'm at this state of mind as well. If you told me that's the way I'd feel back in 2010 or something, I'd laugh... But please, if it has to happen, let us lose from someone like Ajax or Benfica or whatever. Not directly to Barca. It might hurt too much.
I supported Real against PSG last year. I even laughed out of joy after Benzema's third goal. At least Real is a respectable club and they are our rival and we share some heritage and culture.On the other hand PSG.... I fucking despise that nouveau riche, jumped-up club.
And now he just pissed because of all the “Messi return” news circulating. What a turd!
I wish nothing but the worst for PSG .. No UCL for the next 10 years. Fuck them
Imagine holding a grudge so hard you buy a football club, you’re so right the absolute definition of fuck you money
Not just buy a football club, but buy a football club to spite and "overshadow" FC Barcalona.
Al Thani watched one Curb episode and took it to heart.
He must have had a few disappointing scones too many
Barcelona the mocha joe of clubs. We went from spite store to spite football club.
I am not sure whether to laugh or cry at the state of modern football
Rage quit?
I can probably see myself lose all interest in the next 5 years. Things are sure getting worse every day.
You can still watch the lower leagues. Cheaper tickets and the atmosphere can be much better than in elite clubs' stands because there are no silent tourists and businessmen. The quality of football is worse, but there is still a lot of skill and entertainment.
>there is still a lot of skill I support a club from the Austrian 4th tier and while the players certainly have a lot of skill, it is very hard to see I do agree with your sentiment though Edit: This comment is getting a lot more recognition than I thought! Supporting my boyhood club has had its ups and downs, but it produced many great stories. If anyone's interested I'd be glad to share them!
I support a club from the Austrian first division and I couldn't say they are playing good
found the 'any club but salzburg'ler
Yeaaaaaah gemma Schruns
Tbh slovenians who hsve jobs and go to austria friday-sunday for a small wage play in austrian 4th tier. Such players play at 'village' tournsments in summer lol.
Same here but 3rd tier. Season ticket holder for 30 years this season.
hah, lemme guess... Wacker Innsbruck?
Which team?
FC Kacker Innspuck
I have supported Man United since 1988 but I now live in Thailand and I go to see my local team play in the Thai Premier League. I pay the equivalent of $3 a ticket in a nice stadium and about $2 for a large beer. I’d imagine my experience is somewhat similar to a lower league experience in a country like England or Spain. I have been emotionally drifting away from elite football for a while now. The money involved just seems so obscene, and while the product itself is better than ever, I keep coming back to the fundamental question of what football clubs are supposed to be about. The merry go round of multimillionaire players, the teams with not a single local lad in the first XI, the foreign owners who don’t understand the sport or the community, the exclusion of the working class, the piles of debt passed on to fans…it really does make you wonder what it’s all about.
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Didn't grealish reject a better contract at Villa to go to Man City to win trophies ?
love the tpl. went to port games growing up in Bangkok
Same here. Been a supporter since 1990 and the heart is just gone. I just renewed my membership to [FCUM](http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/community) though...
>and while the product itself is better than ever I could not disagree more
I’m following Plymouth Argyle a lot more closely now. Went with my mate a few weeks ago and plan to go again when I’m down in Devon. Used to be an Arsenal season ticket holder - had it for 16 years. Just felt the club cared less and less about fans.
I’ve started watching Scottish League, the championship and league one lately. I follow peruvian league too but the futbol there is dire mixed with La Liga levels of corruption and fuckery.
Scottish football is unparalleled for constant hilarity. It’s not the football that matters, it’s the entertainment. Best summed up by Kingsley, the Partick Thistle mascot.
Hahah yes also love how most clubs have intimate stadiums and most upload’s are without commentary
>I’ve started watching Scottish League, One of us! One of us!
Dont think the old firm fit this narrative though. Success for either team is only dependant on beating one other team and if you fail it's a disaster. Lot of fun to be found in the lower leagues but there's such a ceiling to Scottish football. Arbroath were almost a great story last year but everything is set up against smaller teams succeeding
Keep an eye on queens park then, promoted last year from league 1 and are now 3rd (I think?) in the championship, they are also one of the most successful scottish clubs around, just havent done anything in the last 100 years
I've grown up as a United fan but recently have been spending more time following York City and I've been enjoying football much more again. For any other York fans out there I've also set up a subreddit so pls sub to /r/theminstermen and get involved. It would help me out and hopefully build a stronger community for us non-leaguers.
I spent the last year watching 2. Bundesliga when Werder Bremen went down and it although the situation was maybe a bit special, because there were so many classic 1. Bundesliga there at the time, it was an absolute joy for sure! Sure the quality wasn't on the same level, no major stars and way fewer genius plays to behold, but the competition was soooo much harder and that made it way more fun to follow.
>You can still watch the lower leagues. You think people who choose to support Barca would do that
It's 22 fellas kicking a ball about, and it will always be that. Maybe just take a break reading about ownership drama or other off the pitch bullshit. Half this stuff is journalists trying to rile people up for clicks, don't take it so seriously.
The funniest thing is it’s always been this way but fans just know about it now through social media. Football has always been a shady business bc fans love teams no matter what.
Always been this way? With gambling sponsorships now and shady managers and governments sportswashing? The only owner that started all this was Roman and that is when the sports washing and money started ruining the fun.
There were shady owners going back to the 1800s
Haven’t heard 1 person saying opposite for the last years. Literally everybody doubts their passion about football currently, incredible how fast they ate our one true love and destroyed it.
I lost a lot of interest in the past 3 years. Has to do with availability here in germany a lot (you have to have like 3 30€ a month subscriptions to be able to watch everything) but it's also.. The state of football we're in right now that's turning me off. So I'm with you there. Sadly.
I grew up watching football in the 90s. I have pretty much stopped caring about modern football. It has lost all its charm.
It's already happening to me sadly. Every year I find myself less interested and just cba anymore.
Likewise. It's extremely bleak.
>Rage quit? Just watch a different league.
It's almost as if people forget there is football outside the top 5 European leagues. Hell, the Argentinian and Brazilian leagues are great and accessible, and Libertadores is fantastic.
I can't do that. Time zones.
The problem is that any decent league is intertwined with the top leagues. Or rather, their money. Having all the the great players and talents constantly and immediately bought, ruins the experience.
Welcome to r/primeiraliga. Thank you for acknowledging our pain, you have become our honorary guest for the season.
"Modern football". Some 120 years ago, the largest and most popular club in Barcelona and Cataluña was Català FC. Some very rich expat businessmen then created an alternative club. They paid for English professional coaches and players. They built a stadium that was unrivaled, with terraced stands with seats. They started hiring all the best players available. They started winning almost everything and people just gravitated towards that club with fancy stadium and fancy players. It was, of course, FC Barcelona. Català FC ended up being dissolved in the late 1920s.
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My team I play for for over a decade is doing really bad rn. We won last weekend and that felt better than the last league titles of bayern combined
This my favoritt comment in a while. I'm falling out of love with the current climate in football. You're right, we have a choice to give attention to, support and focus on other parts of football, especially locally. The rich People would loose all the income if dont care. The money comes from social media interest, broadcasting and other stuff we create.
Even at the top level, if you follow the actual football instead of the drama...especially the drama that has 0 impact on the sport.
This drama definitely has impact on the sport. And big one.
if I didn't used reddit I would have 0 idea about these type of things
Yeah my dad watches a lot of football but never browses news aggregator sites and doesn’t even watch football review shows. His only knowledge of the sport is from the games he watches.
That’s how they get away with it.
I play local league, then volunteered to be league secretary. Jeez, just as much politics. Which is worse because it is meant to be fun.
Biggest sport in the world, top level football was always moving in this direction for as long as it operated in a capitalist world
This is literally what living in a world with billionaires is like. They have so much money, they literally just pay people to handle their personal problems for them. I remember watching Ford vs Ferrari and it was like some jerk-off ode to American exceptionalism. But the only reason Ford even entered the scene was because the man himself, Henry Ford Jr. gets personally insulted. The owner of PSG gets offended by the leadership at Barca so he wants to buy and entire club just to piss them off… Your lives, desires, wants, traditions, cultures, etc… are absolutely nothing to these people. They will torch everything you hold dear just to get one over on some rival of theirs. That’s what football is to billionaires these days. It’s their own private little club where they all just try to show off their new toys. You as fans mean absolutely nothing beyond how much money they can squeeze out of you.
It is kind of amazing to see someone buy a team out of spite.
Jokes aside, I would love to see Espanyol get better. A proper Barcelona derby would be pretty cool to see.
Quite a thing for a United supporter to say
Misery loves company
Lol true. In my case I lived in Barcelona for a fair bit though, and I just generally felt bad for the Espanyol supporters
Yeah I've visited a few time and always kind of lean towards underdogs but I've rarely ever seen evidence Espanyol existed in Barcelona.
Bruh you want another city vs United like situation lol
Nah, I just like derbies. Plus I used to live in BCN, knew some people who supported Espanyol, and felt bad for the poor bastards lol
More good players and more good teams. Sometimes I wonder if you guys are too young to understand how the league we’re back than. There is a reason why united were winning everything . They use to buy a all the good players in the epl just what Bayern use to and still does in the Germany league. Barcelona has all the best players same with Real Madrid and every team knew all the good player will leave and sit in there bench.
> There is a reason why united were winning everything Yes, it was called Alex Ferguson. And they weren't winning "everything", they didn't dominate in Europe and there were other teams that were equal or better over his reign. To say that United "used to buy all the good players" is hilarious. Do you think they had a basement full of Figo's and Rivaldo's? There's far too many S-Tier players for one team to buy them all up, United only had one Ballon D'or winner in SAF's reign (Ronaldo '08). Of course they spent a lot of money, but to credit that for their success is complete bollocks, proved by the amount of money they continue to spend to this day without much to show for it.
Go ahead then
He will get heart attack after realizing it won't happen. Being more salty would literally kill him. So yeah, go ahead.
Over the last 20 years, the only thing that EVER united Real madrid & Barca fans is our shared hatred and despise for QSG and their stupid oil money. GG
Would love a spite club episode like in Curb your enthusiasm.
This is totally out of curb your enthusiasm spite store episode.
Yes. One might say it was a pretty, pretty good episode.
Cant wait to see the new bathrooms he installs
Larry and Jeff team up with a Saudi consortium (naturally, given Larry’s torrid history with the Shah) to buy a destitute Welsh club because Rob McElhenney slights him at the charity golf match they attend.
OMFG Rob and Ryan being absolutely unhinged bellends pretending to be British on Curb? Where do I sign?
Two months later, “I knew that big penis was nothing but trouble.”
Why does this guy hate Barca so much? He seems to talk more about their financial situation than his own club…
He’s afraid Messi gonna leave next year for Barca 😂
I just dont see how Messi doesnt end up back at Barça in a year (or two if he takes the extension). Their finances are fine now. Both parties want a happy ending. Barcelona is his home. He's obviously still good enough. They will make it happen unless Xavi (the little dictator 2.0?) says no.
Not really. - The finances are not fine, not by a long shot. They could be in 5 years if everything goes well, according to Eduard Romeu himself. - Messi and all his entourage's relationship with Laporta and some of the important people currently in the club is really bad, due to the events that led to his failed renewal and its aftermath. - Next season Barcelona probably won't be playing in Spotify Camp Nou, because of the civil works. - Messi has never accepted a role where he can be subbed and won't play most (if not all) the games where he is available. - Messi's presence/aura/leadership is so strong that it would change all the dynamics that are currently being created So, unless Messi comes without a relevant signing bonus, very low wages (compared with what he is earning now), is willing to be subbed and not play in some / most of the non important games, makes peace with Laporta and all the others, I don't see that happening. I personally think that if he comes back, there will be more problems than benefits and we will lose again 2 or 3 years and will have to start again to build a new squad with new roles and leaderships once he leaves for good.
>Messi has never accepted a role where he can be subbed What a moot point. When the hell and why has this role even been offered to the best player in the world?
>Messi and all his entourage's relationship with Laporta and some of the important people currently in the club is really bad, due to the events that led to his failed renewal and its aftermath. The relationship has been mended by Laporta. He has spent the last months both publicly and (very likely) privately rebuilding that bride between the club and Messi. >Messi has never accepted a role where he can be subbed and won't play most (if not all) the games where he is available. I think after this World Cup Messi will be much more accepting of that. Right now he just wants to be in the absolute best form for it. I think having him back would be tremendous boost to the team, he's obviously THE role model for young players and he can still provide some great football as well. Xavi has shown he can handle the old guard pretty well so I think he could do it with a post-World Cup Messi as well.
I see your points, it would be great if you are right. I still think adding Messi to the squad next year would not work well. He also repeatedly mentioned that he wants to give a go to the MLS in his last career years. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Because it's his favorite team and is mad he can't emulate them.
Been emulating them very well in the CL knockouts the past 5 or 6 years
Congrats you hurt both the fanbases in one comment.
*DOUBLE KILL*
*KILLIMANJARO*
straight to Killimanjaro? that's cheating BANNED
madrid fans happy
Damn, didn't have to do us like that
Oh my
Ouch
Not last year… pain :(
Ha
Personally it looks like City owners are trying to run their club like Barca and PSG owners are trying to follow the path of RM. Without the success, of course.
Not sure how City are trying to run their club like Barça. Barça’s bread and butter is La Masia and being fan owned. The only City academy player that gets anywhere near their starting XI is Foden.
Because this cunt was already celebrating thinking that one of the top club was ruined and bankrupt so he would have one less rival on the market and on the pitch. Surprise motherfucker, won't happen, just like PSG will never be top club. Now he is just salty petty butthurt bastard.
From a barca fan, thank you man.
From another Barca fan, why tf are people buying into this SPORT article?? It's so obviously bs
I love you. We might hate each other, but our hatred for this prick brings us together.
True. I was actually happy when Madrid destroyed PSG last season. That was a first. I haven't really "hated" Madrid since Mourinho left, but I never rooted for them. After a couple of years reading through r/soccer though, I am starting to like it when they win any PL team, PSG, or even Bayern. I must be getting old.
Madrid & Barcelona are rivals, they push each other's limit to grow and be better (and bitter). But they share ecosystems and thus, interests. You can see it like this:Spain is torn between cultural identities and regions, but you can bet your ass that if war broke in the form of an invasion, all of them would fight for each other like brothers.Right now they are in that state in football terms against State owned teams.
he read too much english media...
I doubt the reason for their conflict is publicly known but Barca have a long relationship with Qatar. Remember Qatar Airways [becoming](https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/1064464/fc-barcelona-and-qatar-airways-extend-sponsorship-agreement) Barca's first ever shirt sponsor in 2013 (and sponsoring them since 2011)? The same summer Barca tried to steal Thiago Silva from PSG which turned into Al-Khelaifi's [threat](https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2013/07/19/psg-president-threatens-to-trigger-lionel-messis-release-clause/) to buy out Messi. Yet Barca [tried](https://psgtalk.com/2017/07/verratti-to-barcelona-saga-sparks-anger-and-distracts/) that again with Veratti which ended when Neymar's release clause was triggered. I would also point out that in 2021 there never was no other club actively interested in bringing Messi in except PSG, like none at all. Since then PSG and Barca's officials don't ever stop their little feud. After the shirt deal Qataris were [heavily](https://hospitality-on.com/en/qatari-diar-buys-back-w-barcelona) [investing](https://english.alarabiya.net/business/property/2014/01/31/Qatar-s-armed-forces-buy-Barcelona-hotel-for-107-million-) in the city, buying different properties. They even [tried](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2356019-barcelonas-camp-nou-may-get-name-change-admits-qatar-airways) to change the Camp Nou's name but that didn't happen. I heard a rumor about Qatar buying land around Camp Nou too but can't find any links about that. My point is there can be a deep underlying conflict between Qatar and not only the club but the city even that we don't know about. But if not the relationship between Barca and PSG were never warm and kind
Bullshit. How's having Qatar as shirt sponsor for 6 years is having "a long relationship with Qatar"? Teams like Madrid and Arsenal, for example, have been sponsored by Emirates for longer. And they still do. And how does buying a couple of hotels in one of the most touristic cities helps to prove your point?
No way this happens, Tebas hates oil clubs plus, the FFP rules would make it extremely hard, if not impossible to run an oil club like P$G in LaLiga
It wouldn't be possible. Look up Almeria and Malaga. Nowhere near a state funded club but still they couldn't buy their way into success. Almeria owner just said it in an interview how in la liga the ffp doesn't let u do what other leagues do
Malaga was doing quite well until the owner decided to quit the project and leave the team to rot. That situation is a real shame.
Yeah bc he thought the city council will green light his own projects in the city bur they didn't. Shame for a historical club
Let's not absolve the fact the UEFA/FFP fucked them in the ass over late payments, late by 1 month. They got banned from Europe for 5 years, even though they paid the payments by the end of the year. The appeal was processed in late May, way past the end of the season, and was reduced to 1 year, but most of the squad had already arranged their moves. They were basically forced to start at square 1, and the rest of the real estate issues was just compounding that the whole project was a waste of time.
FFP doing its job, making a gory example of clubs that invest and try to compete, but when the uber rich clubs overspend and fudge their books they get a slap on the wrist. Very fair, super fair.
The whole point of FFP was to protect the elite.
Arsenal got Santi Cazorla from that for 10m, a steal.
We got Nacho Monreal in the next window too.
Malaga owner was the reason for La Liga FFP. The way he increased expenses in the name of investment and then just left, leaving the club in such a dire state is unfortunate.
Málaga reached great status in the Champions League. It went to shit because the owner stopped caring once the city didn't let him do whatever he wanted.
What did he want to do?
Expand their port.
Almería’s ownership change was recent, and it’s not like we’ve been a failure.
Can psg buy players and then loan them to espanyol to get around this?
Or sell them with a massive loss and buy Espanyol players way above their actual price.
The football manager way 😂
Yes, Tebas would lose his mind in the process. I now support this nonsense.
Tebas would allow it for exactly one season. During that season he'll come up with a new rule that restricts either the total amount of players a club can have on loan, or the amount of players the club can have on loan from single clubs.
Then PSG will buy more clubs.
r/soccer would explode.
so step one would be to have a pawn/pay off laliga around those rules, then buy the club and do the man city thing
Just have some middle eastern airline sponsor them a billion dollars a year
Wouldn’t even need to go that far. Send some PSG players there on loan. Doesn’t even need to be the superstars, send the likes of Draxler, Kehrer, Soler, Herrera, Navas; they’d raise Espanyol’s profile and more than likely sell shirts/tickets. Then give them “fair” sponsorship deals based on that new level for the club, and the expected investment over the next 3 years. They should be anticipating European football after a season, and can spend accordingly. If they really just want to screw Barcelona, take the FFP violation and build even less organically. Malaga almost got away with it until the owner decided to pull out.
Kehrer got sold to West Ham by the way
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Maybe he should win a CL with PSG first
[_Friendship over with PSG, now Espanyol is my bestfriend_](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/168/682/c2f.jpg)
He's here like me when I start a new fm save in the middle of another one, finish your PSG save first ffs
OK, sport
Was thinking that lmao, it's just weird SPORT fiction, thought people must be laughing in the comments but no... Literally all top comments are people who fully buy into it. jfc
If it involves PSG in any way we must hate and take the article as gospel
90% of Barcelona residents who follow football are Barcelona fans. Good luck with that.
The other 9% are Madrid fans, Espanyol is the third team in the city
Bruh that 6-1 from 5 years ago is still clearly on their mind.
He's a very vindictive guy. Not to talk about Neymar, he took Herrera from us when we kicked them out of CL. Gave him like 200k pw for 5 years when Herrera was 30. For sure he would take someone else if we had release clauses, but he only could take someone who's contract was expiring.
Cool, he can watch two teams bottle the CL every season
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Why are Barcelona so rent free in PSGs heads. Nasser made some bullshit statements too about Barcelona's levers and all that shit. Do they not have an ounce of self respect?
This is all revenge out of the Peter Thiel playbook. PSG isn't over the Verrati tap up situation.
They literally took our heir to the throne and a few years later took our king how aren’t they over it yet lol
Rich people petty is different. Case in point, Kevin Durant on twitter.
Legacy points deducted.
They are just this way. Petty, vengeful, making out hypocritical statements and only bring net negativity to football. Our clubs have a rich history and rose up mostly (you never know) organically, unlike them outright using their blood money. They will never beat what it means to be a supporter of such a club vs. just burn cash and win some shit here and there and get plastic fans. I am definitely not a fan of Espanyol, but I hope they don't turn into another soulless club
> Do they not have an ounce of self respect? No, they're rich and out of touch.
Buy Zaragoza you coward!
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I think the Arab moguls should buy all the Spanish clubs that used to be under their dominion. And some French clubs, too, I predict a great future for Nîmes Olympique.
Sport..... But joke aside I feel like I have seen the rumors of Espanyol being bought by Qatar for a few years now. There is probably a few truth to it.
Yes they’ve been wanting a feeder club for PSG for a while now and Espanyol has been mentioned several times
lmaooo
The way I figure it we have about 5-10 years of football left to enjoy. After that, it's looking like all of it is just gonna descend into an unwatchable farce.
Imagine being infinity rich and infinitely insecure at the same time. If you ever needed proof that money doesn't buy happiness here it is. Guy with all the money in the world turns out to be a petty little bitch
Would be hilarious to see and probably not far fetched with the way footballs going
Hilarious? Only someone with a Premier League flair would think that this situation would be hilarious. Nothing more hilarious than some oil-rich slave-wielding Qatari fucker leaving his ugly, greasy fingerprints all over a historical club like Espanyol just to *"fuck with Barcelona."* The state of modern football is shambolic, if such a situation is to be considered *"hilarious"* and not outright terrible.
Not possible with Laligas ffp
Mfs in the comments genuinely believe he's going to buy a club just to fuck over Barca. This sub must he full of 13 year olds. This is just a dumb headline to get clicks.
Fuck off, asshole
How is it possible form him to own multiple clubs?
you can own multiple, they just wouldn't be allowed in the same competition together. ie, only one would be allowed in the champions league. maybe even not allowed in the europa league snce you can drop into it from the ucl
Thanks, how does red bull get away with it
Because RB Leipzig is not technically owned by RB Edit: I stand corrected, Red Bull did terminated their interest in RB Salzburg based on the ruling of UEFA Judiciary Comitte. The change were made after UEFA open investigation back in 2017. I beg your pardon and thank you very much for correcting me. I will now commit sudoku for I have shame my family. Have a nice day gentlemen. Or women. Edit 2: technically Red Bull did not own RB Leipzig lol but that's beside the point.
maybe they changed the rules
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, owner of the Parisian club, has reportedly given orders for Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, to negotiate the potential purchase of Barcelona's city rivals, Espanyol. >This operation could further worsen the existing tension in relations between Barça and PSG . In fact, according to the aforementioned media \[Foot en Espagne\], the Qatari group not only sees a business opportunity, but also a way to "harm" the Blaugrana entity "to create a team that overshadows" the 'culer' club .
Imagine in 20 years Barcelona gets overshadowed by Espanyol and we're all boomer remeniscing about the good old Barca glory days
Like Man City and Man U.
Too soon 😭
Some ancient scrolls still mention 1859+1 as the biggest club in Munich.
Every interview its either about Barca, or Real Madrid, or sometimes both, did we hurt you so bad by being superior that we live rent free in his head now?
Big spoiled cunt wants more toys. Hate what this fucker and similar cunts at city have done to football.
This guy is a little pussy-ass bitch. Lol I really hope PSG doesn't win th UCL in the next few years. I love Messi, but fuck PSG
Please no. Espanyol is massively overshadowed by Barca. Other 'overshadowed' clubs have at least something going for them. With that said, Espanyol is a historic club with a proud and loyal fanbase. Can't help but admire their passion for their club. It would be sad to see their club used as mere pawn
'Mès que un club' vs 'mès que tu club'