This is it. The Spanish government cannot compete against the UAE and Qatari governments. In the past they have done dodgy deals, especially for Real. Barca was running on the foundation laid by Cruijff. Koeman is no Pep and there is no Messi around the corner to bail them out. He is getting on now.
Tbh your record with cheaper signings seems so much better than the big ones. Ronaldo seems like the exception to the Kaka, James, Hazard, Bale rule of not doing much to justify the wages and routinely being out performed by a youth player basically.. Picking up modric, kroos, carvajal, marcelo and so on for pretty cheap fees and the various youth team players seems a hell of a lot more impressive.
I am not saying you are wrong. But if you study football history this always goes by cycles. If you look into the mid 50's and the first hallf of the 60's Real Madrid was the dominant club in Europe and during the 70's or even the 80's they were always on the shadows of someone else, be it clubs like Ajax, Bayern, later Liverpool, or even during the 80's to the mid 90's always behind Juventus or Milan.
The same Real Madrid that are throwing around names like Mbeppe and Haaland?
They throw names every year, if you read Marca or As every day the best players in the world will come to them, Sport and Mundo Deportivo for Barcelona, will be surprised if Laporta will keep following the same policy as the former Barça presidents, regarding Florentino it's another history. When are the next elections at Real Madrid? If he feels his position at risk he will even sign Boris Johnson and Donald Trump on a full package. Make Real Madrid Great Again!
I would say that Ronaldinho is the one who really put Barcelona in the uppermost bracket. For all their prestige, they had a grand total of 1 CL before him.
This is entirely possible. Throw a billion each at RM and Barca and they're back in business for the next 10 years atleast. As to what happens 10 years later that's a different issue. Maybe they can twist the spanish clubs' arms a bit and have them renegotiate a fairer TV deal in exchange for the money.
Not true, Griezmann has been fantastic this season. Double digits in goals and assists.
Well it ended up working out very well for him in fairness
Fair enough. Haven't really followed footy that much this season, but just remember reading an article last year about how much he's struggling.
I agree. If Madrid and Barca can attract big stars anyway, why dont they have them in their side as we speak?
Jaysus...What would you call 901m euros in debt then?
Back then the sugar daddy clubs were still "young" and there wasnt a worldwide pandemic that lasted for 2 years.
Yeah right. Those clubs would have to play each other in an invitational tournament at some flash stadium in the middle east for a couple of years to get a bit of cash, and - oh - suddenly, we have a fledgeling super league. Totally self defeating.
This. I don't know why the Anglosphere is caught up in the narrative that the Spanish giants are on deaths door. Yes, Barcelona's debt is crazy and Madrid has a big squad renovation project to face, but they'll still be big relevant clubs that are ever present in the final 8 of the Champions League. They need to cut down on their expenses and stop giving those wages to players like Griezmann or Hazard that are on the decline.
The biggest stars in the world Mbappe and Halaand both want Madrid. Neymar wants barcelona. They are going nowhere.
Funnily enough just like Scottish football which has rangers and Celtic always begging to get into the PL. how is that much different from real following the money to a ESL?Spanish football is declining. They have created a non-competative league by giving most of the tv cash to the big clubs. Ronaldo has left and Messi is aging. Madrid and Barca are both reportedly in financial trouble.
Oh well. Adios Amigos. Enjoy the huge ESL penalty from UEFA.
Do they though? According to who and why arent they playing for them right now? All have made moves in last 4 years, all dont play for either Madrid or Barca. Dont go believing propaganda. Now they dont sign top players, they just tell you other team stars are huge El Classico fans.
Real Madrid & Barcelona have looked well off the boil for over 3 years now, and what's worse, it was expected. This is no knee jerk thread, we've seen a sustained, continuous fall in these two clubs to a level just below their peers. I honestly couldn't care less about Real reaching the semi's this year given their only test was Liverpool who are having a ridiculously bad season themselves. They actually scraped out of an easy group and were outplayed by a couple of underdogs themselves.
Why don't you try sticking to the topic. You are intentionally driving onto the pavement to hit a pedestrian.
Yeah, this is something the other leagues really need to address. The PL isn't the most watched league because of names and/or it's sugar daddy clubs. It is because the equal distribution allows the small clubs to be competitive. However, greed on the part of the big clubs, particularly in Spain, ha e blinded them to this fact.Spanish football is declining. They have created a non-competative league by giving most of the tv cash to the big clubs. Ronaldo has left and Messi is aging. Madrid and Barca are both reportedly in financial trouble.
Oh well. Adios Amigos. Enjoy the huge ESL penalty from UEFA.
The funny thing is Real say they're not in trouble and will point to Spurs debt (which includes their stadium debt) but then discount their own stadium debt when trying to paint a picture of being ok.
I am not an expert in finance, but I do know that it is a bit more complex than "big number = bad."
Barcelona signed Griezmann and Real Madrid signed Hazard not very long ago. Both 'top players.' As for other players, there's nothing surprising about that, Real Madrid and Barcelona have always had to compete with other clubs, plenty of great players have gone elsewhere.
They were a month ago and no one ran but him.
