Thiago Alcantara | Signed for Bayern Munich

[Adam-Utd]

It's incredible after the elation of yesterday we seem to be back to square one again.

I wouldn't say that. We have not gone forward or backwards from yesterday - the cropping of the photo is a big thing IMO.

Ok sure that does not necessarily mean he is definitely coming to us, but I think that is a sign he will NOT stay at Barca.

No way they would do that intentionally if they were still hopeful of keeping him.

 

[Solius]

It is not back to square one at all though. The Spanish press seem resigned to the fact that he's leaving, it's just a matter of telling the club his intention and they all seem to think we are the most his most likely destination.

I reckon it's a case of dotting i's and crossing t's like jojojo said.

Been like that for ages apparently. It feels like we're his mistress trying to get him to finally break up with his wife, but every night he goes home he pussies out.

 

[ehsanul]

Imagine the carnage if the first question in Moyes press conference went like this..

reporter: how close is the deal for Thiago
DM: what deal? We haven't spoken to Barcelona or the player and are not interested in starting any kind of negotiations

Actually i am dreading it,this might be the case.

 

[blitz133w]

There is a chance of him not getting up and running from the start. But we'll be forced to keep playing him in because of the clause. There's Cleverley working his ass off for a spot for so many years and he'll have to be brushed aside. The release clause will only be a hindrance to other players in thiago's position. Because of the no. of minutes specified in the clause, We'll have to play Thiago in certain unwanted matches where we can finish the job using some other younger player. Now, the fringe player will lose some game time and we'll not be able to give rest to Thiago. Maybe there should be a clause which states that unless Thiago cements his place in the first team, the no. of minutes clause should not be activated. But it would make the whole point of the clause redundant. It's a difficult situation. We simply cannot allow him force us to play him for 60% of the games or whatever it was in Barca.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

There is a chance of him not getting up and running from the start. But we'll be forced to keep playing him in because of the clause. There's Cleverley working his ass off for a spot for so many years and he'll have to be brushed aside. The release clause will only be a hindrance to other players in thiago's position. Because of the no. of minutes specified in the clause, We'll have to play Thiago in certain unwanted matches where we can finish the job using some other younger player. Now, the fringe player will lose some game time and we'll not be able to give rest to Thiago. Maybe there should be a clause which states that unless Thiago cements his place in the first team, the no. of minutes clause should not be activated. But it would make the whole point of the clause redundant. It's a difficult situation. We simply cannot allow him force us to play him for 60% of the games or whatever it was in Barca.

Assuming we play 50 games, multiply that by 90, that's 4500 minutes. 60% would be 2700 minutes.

It's quite plausible that between the 3 main midfielders we can offer them enough game time each.

In the 07/08 season we juggled Carrick Anderson Scholes Fletcher and Hargreaves centrally. This year we know Carrick and Cleverley will be there, not entirely sure on Anderson and Fletcher but with Thiago around it doesn't seem like an impossible task to ensure Cleverley is in and around the team too.

I find it strange that people are questioning the thought of one of the best talents in world football play every 3/5 games in a position which is criticised non-stop. Lets sign someone and not play them very often.

 

[Kevin]

Actually i am dreading it,this might be the case.

O rly? Seems like every time your name pops up as the last post on this or the twitter thread, it's always the depressing articles and twitter quotes you choose to report. You're relishing to fire up your keyboard at the first hint of a depressing quote from moyes this evening I reckon.

 

[SirAF]

Assuming we play 50 games, multiply that by 90, that's 4500 minutes. 60% would be 2700 minutes.

It's quite plausible that between the 3 main midfielders we can offer them enough game time each.

In the 07/08 season we juggled Carrick Anderson Scholes Fletcher and Hargreaves centrally. This year we know Carrick and Cleverley will be there, not entirely sure on Anderson and Fletcher but with Thiago around it doesn't seem like an impossible task to ensure Cleverley is in and around the team too.

I find it strange that people are questioning the thought of one of the best talents in world football play every 3/5 games in a position which is criticised non-stop. Lets sign someone and not play them very often.

Absolutely. That said, I do think it is a bit silly by Thiago to insist on this clause as he WILL play plenty. However, it shouldn't be problem to us, as long as we make sure that the clause will be void if he suffers a long term injury.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Don't forget that Thiago is not just in contention for one position alongside Carrick. He's a very versatile midfielder. If we play 4-2-3-1, I'd mostly like to see him alongside Carrick, but he's played wide left and behind the centre forward for Barca and Spain as well.

So even if we played Carrick and Cleverley in midfield, we could have a front 3 behind the striker consisting of Kagawa, Thiago and Rooney for example.

The talent he will be bringing dwarfs our current midfielders (except Carrick, obvs). His versatility is also a big plus. He's simply going to get games, unless he's injured.

 

[blitz133w]

Assuming we play 50 games, multiply that by 90, that's 4500 minutes. 60% would be 2700 minutes.

It's quite plausible that between the 3 main midfielders we can offer them enough game time each.

In the 07/08 season we juggled Carrick Anderson Scholes Fletcher and Hargreaves centrally. This year we know Carrick and Cleverley will be there, not entirely sure on Anderson and Fletcher but with Thiago around it doesn't seem like an impossible task to ensure Cleverley is in and around the team too.

I find it strange that people are questioning the thought of one of the best talents in world football play every 3/5 games in a position which is criticised non-stop. Lets sign someone and not play them very often.

I have no doubts he'll be one of the best midfielders soon enough. But as a precautionary measure, The club has to think from all perspectives. There's been a lot of cases of world class players not making it for some reason. Veron, Shevchenko, etc. The only problem for me is if he'll not be able to fit in right away. 2700 minutes is 30 games. That is a lot for a young player in his first season in a new club in a different league. He'll be good enough, but what if it happens slowly. Maybe after 1 or 2 years. Because of that, Cleverley's development will be slowed down and more importantly, what if we lose some important games. Am not being pessimistic but there's a reason why no one is guaranteed playing time. At barca it was a different issue because he had the world's best midfielders ahead of him in the pecking order. Even if he performed above expectations, he'll be dropped to the bench soon. This isn't the case here. If he performs well, he will play for sure.

That said, I don't want a clause to be the reason why we didn't sign him. He's an excellent player who will tremendously improve our squad.

 

[Ish]

There is a chance of him not getting up and running from the start. But we'll be forced to keep playing him in because of the clause. There's Cleverley working his ass off for a spot for so many years and he'll have to be brushed aside. The release clause will only be a hindrance to other players in thiago's position. Because of the no. of minutes specified in the clause, We'll have to play Thiago in certain unwanted matches where we can finish the job using some other younger player. Now, the fringe player will lose some game time and we'll not be able to give rest to Thiago. Maybe there should be a clause which states that unless Thiago cements his place in the first team, the no. of minutes clause should not be activated. But it would make the whole point of the clause redundant. It's a difficult situation. We simply cannot allow him force us to play him for 60% of the games or whatever it was in Barca.

Don't forget that Thiago is not just in contention for one position alongside Carrick. He's a very versatile midfielder. If we play 4-2-3-1, I'd mostly like to see him alongside Carrick, but he's played wide left and behind the centre forward for Barca and Spain as well.

So even if we played Carrick and Cleverley in midfield, we could have a front 3 behind the striker consisting of Kagawa, Thiago and Rooney for example.

The talent he will be bringing dwarfs our current midfielders (except Carrick, obvs). His versatility is also a big plus. He's simply going to get games, unless he's injured.

Yep, spot on.

He'll give us great options and versatility - in midfield and in attacking areas.

We might even line up with a midfield 3 of Carrick, Cleverley and Thiago in tough aways - not to mention if Cleverley himself has been shifted wide a few times. We're definitely short on both quantity AND quality in midfield. So his signing won't or shouldn't "hinder" anyone's role in the first XI too much.

 

[LR7]

Been like that for ages apparently. It feels like we're his mistress trying to get him to finally break up with his wife, but every night he goes home he pussies out.

This thread is what makes it feel like its taking ages. In actuality it isn't.

http://translate.googleusercontent....398449&usg=ALkJrhjHQiTg25D0HKRbDA-pxDnyMd1MIg

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http://www.mundodeportivo.com/20130515/fc-barcelona/barca-dispuesto-escuchar-ofertas-thiago-alcantara_54373512028.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2325785/Barcelona-Thiago-Alcantara-sale.html

The above articles are from six weeks ago. At that time it was reported that Barcelona wanted to put him up for sale and we weren't even that heavily linked with him, now pretty much everyone agrees he's most likely to come here. Not to forget that he had the Euro's which he concentrated on without dealing with the transfer, and then after that both him and Moyes were away on holiday. So it's not really been ages it just seems that way.

I'm hoping it's just a case or finalising things and him telling Barcelona that's left to do, just because the media don't know for sure, doesn't mean that his mind isn't definitely made up. He's just refreshingly not cryptically telling the media his every thought like Hazard.

 

[Red-Man-Walking]

Yep, spot on.

He'll give us great options and versatility - in midfield and in attacking areas.

We might even line up with a midfield 3 of Carrick, Cleverley and Thiago in tough aways - not to mention if Cleverley himself has been shifted wide a few times. We're definitely short on both quantity AND quality in midfield. So his signing won't or shouldn't "hinder" anyone's role in the first XI too much.

As I recall at the start of the RVP saga there were those who didn't want us to sign him because he would hinder Welbeck/Hernandez. Look how that turned out.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

As I recall at the start of the RVP saga there were those who didn't want us to sign him because he would hinder Welbeck/Hernandez. Look how that turned out.

Yep one finished the season being compared to Heskey, the other got a few starts because Rooney is a twat, but was generally seen as an option from the bench.

Although I must add, it was worth it.

 

[Ish]

As I recall at the start of the RVP saga there were those who didn't want us to sign him because he would hinder Welbeck/Hernandez. Look how that turned out.

I can understand the sentiment a bit. I think majority of us LOVE seeing a youth team or even home grown player get their chance. But Arruda had a good write up yesterday about why clubs like Porto (see Spurs as well) can buy unproven but talented players for cheaper and take the chance for them to develop, versus clubs like Madrid/United etc - there's much more pressure to get instant success and hence much less opportunity for "teething" problems. We prefer to send ours out on loan etc.

 

[Drifter]

The future of the 22-year-old remains far from certain with Manchester United and Bayern Munich both closely linked with the midfielder, who reportedly wants to leave the Camp Nou.
The player is due to return to pre-season training after playing a starring role in Spain's European Under-21 Championship success.
Reports claim that Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta met with the player's father and agent - former Brazilian international Mazinho - on Thursday, and told him the club want a decision on Alcantara's future in ten days.
When approached by Sky Sports, a Barcelona source would only say: "We still have not received any formal offer for the player."
It is claimed Barcelona are not looking to negotiate Alcantara's sale with anyone, but he is widely reported to have a buy-out clause of just over £15million so they would be unable to prevent him leaving if this figure was met.
Reports suggest that Alcantara does not believe he will be able to claim a regular starting spot ahead of the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas, which is why he is keen to look for regular first-team action elsewhere.

Last season Alcantara started just 15 league games for Barca, and of those he was taken off seven times.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8808806/

 

[Cina]

that article may as well be from three weeks ago. It does feel like this is going nowhere.

 

[Sassy Colin]

The future of the 22-year-old remains far from certain with Manchester United and Bayern Munich both closely linked with the midfielder, who reportedly wants to leave the Camp Nou.
The player is due to return to pre-season training after playing a starring role in Spain's European Under-21 Championship success.
Reports claim that Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta met with the player's father and agent - former Brazilian international Mazinho - on Thursday, and told him the club want a decision on Alcantara's future in ten days.
When approached by Sky Sports, a Barcelona source would only say: "We still have not received any formal offer for the player."
It is claimed Barcelona are not looking to negotiate Alcantara's sale with anyone, but he is widely reported to have a buy-out clause of just over £15million so they would be unable to prevent him leaving if this figure was met.
Reports suggest that Alcantara does not believe he will be able to claim a regular starting spot ahead of the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas, which is why he is keen to look for regular first-team action elsewhere.

Last season Alcantara started just 15 league games for Barca, and of those he was taken off seven times.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8808806/

So basically the whole of yesterday was bullshit & we are no closer to signing him than we were when this thread was first started?

Why do I get involved in this nonsense every fecking year...

 

[Solius]

ThiagOFF.

 

[Adam-Utd]

What I do not get is why they have not received a "formal offer".

Surely we would have paid the money for the release clause by now if we were serious?.

Maybe we are waiting for 100% clarification on the tax laws first. Strange one.

 

[Member 39557]

We might not have made an offer, but we might have asked for permission to talk to him?

 

[Shark]

This saga is horrible.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Graham Hunter's their go-to guy with all things Barcelona isn't he?

 

[MDFC Manager]

What I do not get is why they have not received a "formal offer".

Surely we would have paid the money for the release clause by now if we were serious?.

Maybe we are waiting for 100% clarification on the tax laws first. Strange one.

No. We'd need to get things sorted with Thiago himself first.

 

[Raoul]

Its not a saga if you don't check this thread 50 times a day.

 

[Damien]

Graham Hunter's their go-to guy with all things Barcelona isn't he?

Usually, but I doubt they spoke to him on this. Article was done by Francisco Acedo, who is a correspondent in Spain for Sky Sports.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Mitten said we had bid for him a month ago, if anything I reckon Barca are plodding their feet and trying to inflate the price based on this tax nonsense.

 

[Burrow]

Why do we believe this SSN-source more than the one who brought us good news yesterday? This is more or less done I reckon!

 

[Dobba]

Clearly, Moyes is going to PayPal the transfer clause triggering bid over to Barcelona live during the press conference.

 

[jeston]

How many muppet suicides do we expect if Moyes says "I'm not looking to bring anyone else in, I'm happy with the squad I've got."

 

[ArmchairCritic]

How many muppet suicides do we expect if Moyes says "I'm not looking to bring anyone else in, I'm happy with the squad I've got."

I'd legitimately cry if he said, 'There's no value in the market.'

 

[Ish]

Clearly, Moyes is going to PayPal the transfer clause triggering bid over to Barcelona live during the press conference.

Imagine that!

That's taking "live" transfer news to a whole new level.

 

[fishfingers15]

How many muppet suicides do we expect if Moyes says "I'm not looking to bring anyone else in, I'm happy with the squad I've got."

Please don't say that.
How many minutes more to the Press conference

 

[Crackers]

How many muppet suicides do we expect if Moyes says "I'm not looking to bring anyone else in, I'm happy with the squad I've got."

If that fecking happens, I'll lose the plot. I'll actually go crackers.

 

[Brwned]

What I do not get is why they have not received a "formal offer".

Surely we would have paid the money for the release clause by now if we were serious?.

Maybe we are waiting for 100% clarification on the tax laws first. Strange one.

Why would we bother? This way both teams can say no offer was made which means Barcelona can say Thiago wasn't ever considering leaving and United can say they were never interested (and thus he never turned them down).

 

[devilish]

I bet he'll either stay with Barcelona or else he'll join a big European club. You can bet on that.

 

[Seveneric]

I'm not sure how things work, but wouldn't Alcantara have to make up his mind, before United can make a formal offer? From the different set of stories published today, it seems like he still hasn't told Barcelona he wants to leave, probably why they can say they haven't received any formal offers yet

How many muppet suicides do we expect if Moyes says "I'm not looking to bring anyone else in, I'm happy with the squad I've got."

It'd be naive and he'd just be making things hard for himself. Fergie had an aura and a winning mentality which came from being in charge for so long and being such a legendary manager, hence why he could still do what he did with the midfield. Moyes doesn't and probably won't have that for a while yet, so he can't get away with it.

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

I'm still quietly hoping that this is what happens tomorrow.

Please can we just swap the speedos for sharp suits or Manchester United kits, otherwise this seems somewhat like Solius's gay dream!

 

[jojojo]

How many muppet suicides do we expect if Moyes says "I'm not looking to bring anyone else in, I'm happy with the squad I've got."

We'd say, "SAF's back!" And then wait for the inevitable follow up a couple of days later of, "If the right player came onto the market, we'd take a look."

 

[Skywarden]

How many muppet suicides do we expect if Moyes says "I'm not looking to bring anyone else in, I'm happy with the squad I've got."

Pff, too easy to spin: "Ah but then surely he already has Thiago wrapped up since May. He's a part of the squad now, we mere mortals just don't know that."

 

[jojojo]

Clearly, Moyes is going to PayPal the transfer clause triggering bid over to Barcelona live during the press conference.

That'd be great. I can see them now, trying to remember the password, that last deep breath before they click the confirm. The sudden buyer's remorse that flashes through their eyes a moment later, before the elation finally kicks.

I've often thought they should sell players on eBay. Imagine getting sniped with two seconds to go.