Thiago Extends Contract till 2015

Upcoming Spanish midfielder, Thiago Alcántara has put an end to all speculation and signed a contract which will see his stay at the club extended to 2015. Recognizing his enormous talent and brilliant performance in Under 21 European Championship, Barca has put a huge 90 Million Euro buy out clause. According to official Barca website, the official signing of the contract will take place today, Wednesday, at 17.00. Later there will be a photo session, open to the media, at the doors of the FC Barcelona offices.

Out of the Shadows, Thiago Emerges

What an impact an successful tournament makes, isn't it? What an impact a wonder goal makes, isn't it?Two weeks before I was shouting at the loudest voice in another Barcelona blog about the foolishness of letting Thiago slip away inorder to facilitate the signing of Cesc Fabregas. No one cared. But it looks like Thiago's wonder goal in the final of Euro - 21 has done the trick for him. Suddenly Barcelona fans have started to realise that it could be stupidity of monumental proportion to let this kid slip away. Tha Catalan media have suddenly recognised the talent of Thiago and today's cartoon section has a positive warning against selling him for any matter.

This is Sport.es' cartoon



Thiago triumphs with the U21′s

“Those that want me to be ‘exchange money’ need to be careful…because the change from the little bit of money could end up being costly.”

MundoDeportivo.es had this in their humour section:



“Do you think that Thiago can be successful with Barça?”

“If first they make a bad sale to Arsenal and then buy him back again for for millions, then of course!”

Translation Courtesy : Total Barca

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Happy Birthday Messi

So the little magician from Rosario turns 24 today. Quite an young age for a player who has already achieved so many feats in his career. The two time World Player of the Year was born on 24th of June 1987 in Rosario and we all know very well the journey he took into our hearts. It would an understatement to say Carles Rexach, the sporting director who signed Messi may not have imagined him being such a fine player. After all he realised within minutes Messi's potential and gave him a contract on a paper napkin. Lionel Messi has been elected the World Player of the Year for the last two years and barring some miracle would be winning it this year. That should make for a rare hat-trick of the title. People say that great players starts to show their true capability around the age of 23. So that means whatever we saw till now from messi is just the trailer, bloody hell I can't wait for the full movie. Already he is been compared to the likes of Pele and his own idol Diego Maradona. He may have not achieved their legendary status but when he finishes his career he is guaranteed to have a place along with them. Pele recently questioned Messi's claim for greatness and today said that he could only be compared to Pele if he scores 1200+ goals. Now it may be the typical pele boasting about his achievements, but somewhere we can sense that he believes that this chap could be a serious competitior to his claims of the game's greatest. The only time Pele brings the goal tally in a comparision is when he is pitched against Maradona - Messi's performance is seriously getting under the Brazilian legend's skin.

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The Cesc Chase Looks to have Ended

It is quite difficult to write something during the summer break. Last season was quite different. The constant Cesc quest produced infinite number of stories and for people like us it was quite good. This season things are back to normal and the transfer market is quietly evolving. But earlier indications looks like we are once again losing the plot with the endless Cesc saga. Cesc Fabregas has been very clever this season to make sure that he doen't alienate either Arsenal or Barca. He recently made it clear that it's upto Arsene Wenger to decide what's his future going to be? That's a statement which made both the camps happy as both of them took it in very positive stride. But it is becoming very clear that despite the enthusiasm, barcelona management are slowly resigning to the fact that they may not be able to sign him. Sandro Rosell, the controversial President made a statement Yesterday cleverly down playing Cesc's importance. Suddenly he realised that the value of Cesc fabregas has gone down somehow this summer and made it clear that Barca will not even match what they offered last season for the midfielder. It looks like an escape plan.

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Iniesta Assists and Goal from 2010-11 Season

A 45 Million Kitty and the Annual Pursuit of Fabregas!

Last summer, the Catalan calendar was altered forever - a small entryhas been made to mark the annual pursuit of a Catalan boy trapped in London (Quite funny isn't it?). The festival starts somearound teh first week of June and ends towards the end of August. Surprisingly this festival is coinciding with the European summer tarnsfer markets date. The festival starts with everyone who is linked with Barca first team expressing their desire to play alongside the Arsenal captain at Camp Nou. And most probably like all time , it will end with once again our players expressing their respect for Fabregas' decision to stay at London. Two days before, Barca announced that we will have 45 Million Euros in the transfer kitty. Now that should kill the Cesc signing as Arsenal is not going to sell their Captain for anything less than 50 Million, atleast not this summer.

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The Kids can Play - Barca B secured Third Spot

Barca B, officially known as the FC Barcelona Athletic has secured the third place in the Segunda Division A, following their 2-3 away victory at second placed Rayo Vallecano. Rayo Vallecano who were just one point behind the leaders, Real Betis saw their grim hope of winning the league wiped off with Barca B victory. In any case it didn't matter as the Champions Real Betis made nos mistake in the match against VillarealB. Even though the kids secured the third position, they won't be eligible for promotion play-offs. In Spain the junior tems are not allowed to play in League or Championship where the first team is playing. But still to finish third in the league is not some small feat. When they got promoted to the second division, I seriously expected a struggle to survive in the League. But Luis Enrique's boys have done wonders and did really well in the League. So congrats to our kids, and oh yes! "The Kids can Play".

Are We Being Fare to Bojan and Thiago?

Ok, here is an update on the latest transfer rumours related to Barca. As expected Cesc Fabregas rules the chart with constant report on papers in Spain and England. After that infamous back heel which resulted in Messi scoring a wonder goal at Camp Nou, I have heard many Arsenal fans shouting to sell Fabregas as they questioned commitment. Emotions did settle down slowly, coupled with the way they ended their season - Arsenal fans are convinced that Cesc is the most vital piece in their game and they will not part with their captain. There were rumours of Real Madrid approaching Arsenal and the London side club slapping a starting price of 50 Million pound on the player. That is where it stands, but be ready for an extended summer struggle between Barca and Arsenal. The second in the list is the Villareal's Italian striker, Giuseppe Rossi. The status as of today is that Barca is at advanced stages of negotiation for signing this player. The Italian-American, Rossi could very much become Barcelona's first signing of the summer. There were rumours of Bojan Krkic being included in the deal to sign Rossi. Krkic has laughed off this rumour making it clear that he will not let himself to be included in any deal. Meanwhile there are already rumours of the club selling Thiago if Cesc deal goes through. So back to the main topic of the article - Are we treating Bojan Krkic and Thiago Fairly?

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Carles Puyol Undergoes Surgery Successfully

FC Barcelona captain, Carles Puyol underwent surgery on his troubled knee today at the Hospital Quirón de Barcelona. The surgery has been declared as a success and the doctors has said that Puyol will be back playing in 2-3 months. The league will only start at the end of August and hopefully we will have our Captain back by then. Anyway Puyol have told the doctors that he is confident of starting to play in a month's time. It looks like Abidal spirit is already everywhere in the team. But the captain should be careful not rushing back again. The left knee has been troubling him for sometime and all treatment that was done never went well. So its better taking the recovery slowly than rushing with it.

Thank You, Team

What an excellent season we had! Actually yet another excellent season. Last three season, this team had filled everyone of their fans' hearts with pride and joy. Out of the available 13 trophies, this team has won ten in last three years, quite a remarkable achievement for any side. "This does not end here", that was the advice given by Guardiola before players left for a well earned and deserved break. Guardiola had read the minds of fans when he said that. This team with its recent truimphs is already getting compared to the best in history. But every Barca fan want them to continue building on these triumps and leave their own mark in the history. Praises are pouring out from all over the world. But that's not going to last, within a week's time the nay sayers will be out in full force. Already Rooney has stated that Messi will never be a success in the Premier League. So coming weeks we will once again faced the similiar questions - "Whether this Barca side will perform well in a cold night at Stoke? and so on"

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