Rosell worried about transfers of Cesc and Villa

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims, based upon statements made during a meeting with Barcelona fan club members last week, that Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell is worried about the transfer policy of the current board in the weeks that are left before the elections.

Rosell reportedly thinks that the club could speed up some transfer negotiations and close deals regarding players like Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas and Valencia forward David Villa before the elections, which could benefit the board candidacy. This might lead to Barcelona paying transfer fees that are above the market price.

The former sports vice-president would have said it's possible that Barcelona would spend up to 100 million euros in transfers, which could also limit the actions of the new board that will take office on 1 July. Regarding the transfer of Villa, Rosell is quoted as saying that a correct transfer fee would be between 25 and 30 million euros.

Read more:
Villa to be presented before the elections
Laporta blocks transfer plans Rosell
Torres confirms good relationship with Rosell

Laporta blocks transfer plans Rosell

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona president Joan Laporta has already closed two transfer deals for the summer and would that way make impossible the plan of Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell to announce signings ahead of the elections in June.

A Barcelona vice-president is quoted as saying: "Sandro Rosell will not be able to announce his candidacy with a transfer because Laporta has already verbal agreements with two players who will arrive before 30 June. So Sandro will have to wait two years to sign someone if he in the end wins the presidency of Barcelona."

The paper claims that one of the two players involved is Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22). The second player would be Inter Milan forward Mario Balotelli (19 - picture) or Valencia forward David Villa (28). Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola would like all three players.

Read more:
Transfer battle between board and Rosell
Rooney could become electoral transfer target
Rosell preparing bid for Cesc

Cartoon 33: Rosell ready to solve Cesc's problem

Cesc:
It's very frustrating not to be able to make my debut at the Camp Nou, I would like to find a solution for that.

Rosell:
Well, I have 56 million solutions.


(click the cartoon to enlarge)


by caye

source:
sport

check more election cartoons here

Rosell preparing bid for Cesc

British tabloid The Daily Mail claims that Barcelona presidential candidate and former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell is preparing a bid of 56 million euros to sign Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas in the summer.

Rosell would always have maintained excellent relations with Cesc, whose contract with the English Premier League club expires in 2014, as well as with his family, and securing the transfer of the former Barcelona youth player would strengthen his bid for the presidency.

Read more:
Ribery rejects approach Rosell
Laporta and Rosell contacted Cesc
Torres confirms good relationship with Rosell

Benedito: "Barça should transmit values"

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito gave an interview to Spanish web portal Terra.


Are you in favour of keeping UNICEF on the shirt or do you plan to look for a sponsor?
For now, the UNICEF contract has three years left, but the club is entitled to stop putting it on the shirt after each year. In principle we are in favour of maintaining the agreements that have been reached with UNICEF. We see Barça as a demonstration of good citizenship and the club has the potential to transmit values. We want an active presence in the society, establishing networks with social organizations that allow us to transmit our values and what the Barça brand represents. Given that, a collaboration with UNICEF is possible. But we must do a lot more in this aspect.

Godall thinks it's possible to have a budget of 1.000 millions. Have you thought about it? Is it possible?
I think we have to talk about figures in a serious way. If we have revenues of 1.000 and expenses of 1.000... We have to look at his balance sheet and what he plans to do. I think there are a lot of areas in which we can make progress. I'm optimistic. We will improve the exploitation of those resources that are not optimized, like the vip boxes, the use of club assets, the contracts with Nike and with the companies that own the broadcasting rights, as well as move into markets that we didn't yet reach, like Asia and South America. I believe our revenues will grow in the coming years, but I don't want to put it into numbers. But as important as the revenues are the expenses. We must control as much as possible the spending of the club.

Guardiola has spoken highly of Txiki. Will you ask Pep if he wants to continue with him? If that's not the cause but Pep himself asks you for his continuity, what will you do? Keep in mind that Pep always speaks well of him.
With us in charge, he won't continue.

Even if Pep explicitly asks it?
We will talk with Pep and we'll show him our ideas. We look forward to explain him our wishes and our structure so we can finalize it and fill in the names together with him. Through those talks we want to redefine our structure and try to convince him to continue more than one year. We'll find a common ground.

Will this structure have a sports director?
We will continue with the position of sports director. And in all sections, because we believe those are models that have to be to strengthened and that have worked well to date.

Are you in favour of the continuity of the people responsible for each section? It may seem obvious, but to give an example, Rosell wanted to dismiss Frank three months after hving started a project.
Policies of renewals and abrupt changes are not good for the club. As a principle, we will maintain as far as possible the current ideas and projects.

Without mentioning any names, we refer to Cesc. Are you in favour of paying large sums of money for people who left Barca in a non-friendly way?
I think that in the structure we have, the decisions about the transfers should be made by the sports director and the coach and we will support whatever they decide.

But this is a structural decision. Today it's Cesc and tomorrow it can be Thiago.
We insist that these are sports decisions by the coach and the sports director. About Cesc, I can only say that there is a consensus that he's a player with a Barça profile. The price seems to be an important element. Piqué costed 6 millions and he came without any problem. If the price for Cesc is 10 or 15, I'm sure we all agree, even if there would be a policy of not bringing back former youth players. What is the limit? I think these are football decisions and I think we should rely on the sports director.

The squad is almost entirely renewed. Do you agree with that?
There are some decisions that have been influenced by the elections. If they think something may benefit them in the future, they are doing it. I'm reluctant to talk about football - I'll do it when I'm president - I can say in general that in the last weeks of a term, it's perhaps not appropriate to make some of the decisions that are being made and that could also be made in three months time. I think that Piqué would have signed anyway, being it now or in four months.

this was the second part of this interview. you can read the first part here and the third part here.

Read more:
Benedito: "The media already have their favourites"
Board of Benedito will have 15 directors
Benedito putting emphasis on financial transparency

The Quote: Joan Laporta

"I won't leave Barça without having presented Cesc."


Joan Laporta,
Barcelona president

read more election quotes here

The Pundit: Dagoberto Escorcia on transfers Godall

« The big name Godall wants to sign is not Cesc but Soriano. »

Dagoberto Escorcia,
La Vanguardia

check more pundit talk

Polls lead to Cesc transfer rumours

Madrid sports tabloid As claims that the recent rumours regarding a deal on the transfer of Arsenal midfielder Cesc to Barcelona this summer are a consecuence of vote intention enquiries.

Private polls among club members and fans would show that Barcelona vice-president Alfons Godall is going behind and the leaking of names of players that could join Barcelona would be a strategy by the club to attract more votes.

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that, because of the polls, the current board wants to present two big transfers before the elections, with Cesc and Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribéry suggested as possible targets. The club would be trying to make a budget of 100 million euros available for the signings.

Read more:
Rooney could become electoral transfer target
Laporta and Rosell contacted Cesc
Ribery on wish list Rosell

Laporta and Rosell contacted Cesc

Spanish television channel Antena 3 claims that Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22) has decided that, because of the lack of trophies won, he wants to leave the English Premier League club at the end of the season and join Barcelona.

Both Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell would already have contacted the entourage of Cesc, but the player reportedly doesn't want to be linked with any candidacy and would first try to convince Arsenal to let him go in the summer.

Catalan sports papers Sport, El Mundo Deportivo and El 9 Esportiu all claimed this week that Barcelona wants to sign Cesc before the end of the mandate of Laporta, who will leave the club on 30 June after seven years in office (read more here).

Asked about a possible return, Cesc meanwhile suggested in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that he could be willing to come back to Barcelona, the club he left as a youth player in the summer of 2003:

"I've never hidden that one day I would like to return to Barça. Since I was nine months old, I went to the Camp Nou. I spend my whole youth wearing those colours, but because of a series of circumstances I had to leave. You never know what can happen in the future, but during the coming four months I want to focus on my job at Arsenal."

Read more:
Guardiola will push candidates to sign Cesc
Transfer battle between board and Rosell
Rooney could become electoral transfer target

Guardiola will push candidates to sign Cesc

British tabloid The Daily Star claims that Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola is believed to want all candidates who will run for Barcelona president this year to make Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22) the central player in their transfer strategy and could even be linking his own renewal to the signing of the Catalan player.

A source close to Guardiola is quoted by the tabloid as saying: "There is no way that Guardiola will not sign a new contract and he can almost write out his own terms [...]. But he wants to make sure that [...] there is a commitment to Fabregas. It will be an important signing for them this summer and any new president will want to keep Guardiola happy."

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo reports that it's clear to all presidential candidates that the transfer of Cesc, who is said to be together with Bayern Munich player Ribéry Barcelona's transfer priority for the summer, could be a decisive factor in the upcoming presidential elections.

Madrid sports tabloid Marca meanwhile claims that Cesc would be a key player in the project for next season of former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell. Madrid sports tabloid As claims that the relationship between Rosell and Cesc is so close that in case the player would leave Arsenal, that would only be to join Rosell's Barcelona.

Read more:
Godall: "I want Cesc to return home"
Benedito denies talks with Mascherano
Presidential candidates know transfer price Cesc

Godall: "I want Cesc to return home"

Barcelona first vice-president Alfons Godall gave an interview to Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo.


Barça may one day become a joint stock company?
I think that would mean losing a great value that differentiates us. At certain times it was believed that we had a handicap since we had to compete against clubs that are joint stock companies and might even be listed on the stock market abroad. But it has been proven that it's not the case. This characteristic gives us more freedom and value. How many Premier League fans would give anything to regain the status of partners? They'd give anything for that. The economic viability of a club doesn't depend on its legal structure.

Do you have to requalify the Miniestadi zone in order to modernize the Camp Nou?
Some major works of great economic value has to be done. Therefore, either with the Foster project or with a cheaper one, it will be difficult to pay a remodelling of this magnitude without selling. It's not only about a new Camp Nou, but also about a new Palau [home to the basketball, handball, roller hockey, and futsal sections], which has become completely outdated.

Have you hinted that a more modest project is possible?
Yes. We feel that the process at the city council is taking longer than expected and that the requirements are becoming abusive. Against this background, we have to think about whether the reclassification we're looking at will make it possible to pay the remodelling we are talking about.

Barça is running a high risk by not having a bank guarantee for the television contract?
No, because there are some clauses in the contract that allow us to recover the rights almost immediately. The television rights of Barça are worth far more than we're receiving and in addition each year we get paid 40% in advance. Madrid, on the other hand, does have a bank guarantee but it's the club that should pay the cost of the guarantee and that's a lot of money. In fact, it's as if they're getting two or three millions less.

Will you maintain the prices of the season-tickets if you become president?
We will update them according to the consumer price index and if that's negative, we will also review them downwards.

Do you have the feeling that the fan clubs are satisfied?
It's an issue that touches me directly [godall is responsible for the social area]. There are more fan clubs than ever and there are more services for them than ever. We have the feeling that we have made a lot of progress, but, and the same goes for the club members, we still have to make a lot more.

Let’s talk about the sports area. When do you think that Guardiola should decide his future?
For me things are very clear. I'm in favour of giving him all the tranquillity he needs so that he can do his job without pressure and without having to keep an eye on his renewal. I believe it is essential that he can work comfortably. When the time is there, we will talk to him and offer him the working conditions, which will be those that he thinks can allow him to keep on doing his excellent work at Barça, either as a coach or with other responsibilities.

In which role do you see him?
I see him in the role in which he thinks he can do most for Barça.

If he wants to have absolute powers, will he get them?
Yes, but I am in favour of the current model and this, in principle, means maintaining the coexistence of the sport director and the coach, and therefore he could do one thing or the other.

But you are in favour of keeping Txiki. Or not?
Until the end of the term he is our sports director. As part of the talks on the future of the club, we also will have to know what Txiki would like to do in the future.

The six titles were also partly due to luck?
The truth is that none of us would have imagined that we would have been able to win them all, but we had total belief in Guardiola from the first day because we had seen him at the second team.

If you become president, which player would you like to sign?
Well, there's one player who we all would like to see coming home. I am referring to Cesc. He is a player that is made by and for Barça, although I'm speaking as a fan here.

There seems to be unanimity about his transfer among the candidates. Will he be crucial in the elections?
I talked for my own account, but the decision will be made by the coaches. I can say that there will be money for the transfers they will ask us, but I understand that with the current squad few changes will be needed.

this was the second and last part of the interview. you can read the first part here.

Read more:
The five vice-presidents of Godall
Poll result: Who should be the next president?
Godall: "Laporta is like a brother to me"

interview: roger torelló

Presidential candidates know transfer price Cesc

Madrid sports paper Marca claims that Arsenal has put a price tag of 45 million euros on midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22) after the player told Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger that he wants to leave the English Premier League club at the end of the current season.

Several Barcelona presidential candidates would want to sign Cesc, while Real Madrid is said to be willing to pay the asking price. Arsenal reportedly thinks that the sale of Cesc is a way to improve the financial situation of the club that is still weak after the construction of the new Emirates stadium.

Read more:
Transfer battle between board and Rosell
Benedito denies talks with Mascherano
Rosell closing in on Cesc

Rosell closing in on Cesc

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22) is the cornerstone of the sporting project of presidential candidate Sandro Rosell and would become the first transfer of Rosell if he wins next year's elections.

When Cesc joined Arsenal in 2003, then vice-president Rosell agreed with the English Premier League an option that Barcelona could match the highest bid for the player. Arsenal, that would be asking a starting price of 40 million euros, would have accept to let the Catalan leave in the summer while Rosell has reportedly already a deal with Cesc.

Another reason for a transfer deal would be that sportswear supplier Nike prefers Cesc to join a club sponsored by them rather than for example Real Madrid, even more so after the problems that have arisen after the transfer of Nike player Cristiano Ronaldo to Madrid. Rosell from his side has in the past worked for Nike and would still have excellent relations with the company's executives.

Catalan sports paper Sport meanwhile claims that Cesc is the absolute priority of Barcelona for next season and that the negotiations will be intensified in the first months of next year, with president Laporta reportedly wanting to sign him before the elections. All presidential candidates as well as Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola would agree on the return of the Catalan midfielder.

Read more:
Cesc gives his ok to presidential candidates
Benedito denies talks with Mascherano
Transfer battle between board and Rosell

Transfer battle between board and Rosell

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that there's a transfer battle going on between the Barcelona board and the candidacy of former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell ahead of next year's presidential elections.

Rosell, who left the board in June of 2005 and will run for president, would already be holding for a while talks with players' agents in order to build a new football project that would continue the current successes.

The Catalan businessman would like to strengthen and renew the Barcelona squad by signing four players: Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribéry (26), Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22), AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato (20) and Valencia left winger David Silva (23) or his team-mate Juan Mata (21).

Over the past months, the current board, inspired by election polls indicating a clear lead for Rosell (check the polls here), would nevertheless also have contacted several of those players trying to sign some of them before the elections to gain more votes.

Read more:
Cesc gives his ok to presidential candidates
The Rosell Project - Part 2: The Team
Benedito denies talks with Mascherano

Cesc gives his ok to presidential candidates

Spanish sports paper Marca claims that several people who will take part in the elections for president, one of them being former Barcelona vice-president Sandro Rosell, have contacted the entourage of Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (22), who reportedly reacted positively to the question if he wants to join Barcelona next summer.

Cesc would have decided to almost certainly leave Arsenal at the end this season and he could have the permission from Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger to look for another club if Arsenal receives a transfer fee of at least 50 million euros. Real Madrid would be alerted by the latest events and would soon decide if they will enter the race for the Catalan midifielder.

Read more:
Laporta wants Cesc before end of his term
Barcelona wants to tie down Ribery before elections
Rosell sounding out Fernando Torres

Laporta wants Cesc before end of his term

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona president Joan Laporta thinks that a transfer of Arsenal midfielder and Spanish international Cesc Fàbregas (22) would be the icing on the cake of his term as president of the club.

Laporta, who will leave the club after seven years on 30 June 2010, therefore wants to sign the Catalan midfielder and former Barcelona youth player before the end of his mandate.

The president is reportedly in direct contact with the player and would be waiting for the approval by Arsenal to start the formal negotiations. Barcelona wants to push hard for Cesc and would be willing to pay around 50 million euros for the Catalan.

Barcelona presidential candidate Sandro Rosell would be following the events closely. Barcelona's former sports vice-president reportedly contacted the player and his entourage to inform them about his wish that Cesc returns to Barcelona. A deal with Cesc is believed to possibly be decisive in the elections process.

Asked about the new rumours, Barcelona president Joan Laporta was being careful at a press conference: "It's a player who was formed at Barça, who knows our way of playing football and who is liked by the majority of our fans. But we have to respect Arsenal and we cannot comment on a possible transfer. The market isn't opened, these are issues that are being dealt with by the technical department and we shouldn't think about it now."

Read more:
Rosell sounding out Fernando Torres
Barcelona wants to sign Cesc before elections

Barcelona wants to tie down Ribery before elections

Catalan sports weekly paper Gol claims that the current Barcelona board wants to avoid at all costs that a presidential candidate in next year's elections can strengthen his bid with the promise of signing some specific players.

The main objective would in that perspective be to find a deal on the transfer of Bayern Munich wing attacker and French international Franck Ribéry (26) before the elections, trying to take advantage of the good relationships between Barcelona president Joan Laporta and his Bayern Munich counterpart Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

A quick transfer of Arsenal midfielder and Spanish international Cesc Fàbregas (22) would at this moment be seen as more complicated.

Read more:
Barcelona wants to sign Cesc before elections
The Rosell Project - Part 2: The Team

Barcelona wants to sign Cesc before elections

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona wants to sign Arsenal midfielder and Spanish international Cesc Fàbregas (22) before next year's elections.

To avoid that one of the presidential candidates could use the signing of Cesc during the election campaign (read more here), Barcelona president Joan Laporta reportedly wants to launch a final offensive for the Catalan midfielder from January on.

Laporta and Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain would already have reached a principal agreement with Darren Dein, the agent of Cesc, last August. Despite the rather positive attitude of board members of the English Premier League club, a summer transfer was in the end vetoed by Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.

Read more:
Agusti Benedito to run for president
The Rosell Project - Part 2: The Team

The Rosell Project - Part 2: The Team

In June 2008, former Barcelona sports vice-president Sandro Rosell announced at a press conference that he would take part in the next presidential elections. Last month, he confirmed in an interview with Catalan radio station Ràdio Barcelona that nothing had changed since that announcement.

Despite the fact that Rosell reportedly decided not to start campaigning before the end of this year (and maybe not even before the elections are called), he would be close to finishing his program. Several media have in the past weeks reported on his project. This blog will give an overview of what has been published so far.


Guardiola
Rosell fully supports the working methods and ideas of Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola, who will stay on as Barcelona manager if he wishes so. Guardiola will be given more decision power, for example regarding the transfers and the youth academy, and would become a 'British-style' manager.

Sports director
The position of sports director will disappear in the new club structure, which would mean that current Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain will have to leave the club.

Incoming transfers
Rosell will start working on the transfers during the first months of next year. The transfer operations will also depend on the financial situation of the club, on which Rosell has some doubts (read more here).

Cesc
Although several media have claimed that Rosell would already have an agreement with Arsenal midfielder and former Barcelona youth player Cesc Fàbregas (22), both the player (in public) and Rosell (in private) have denied there would be a deal.

Robinho
If Guardiola wishes to sign Manchester City winger Robinho (25) next summer, Rosell would be confident the deal can be done. As former Nike executive in Brazil, Rosell still follows the local market closely and has good contacts in the South-American country.

Puyol
Barcelona captain Carles Puyol (31) is seen as a club icon and will therefore be offered to become part of the club's coaching staff once his career has ended. This would not be linked to Puyol's upcoming decision to renew his expiring contract or to leave the club next summer.

African youth players
Rosell wants to focus more on African players and therefore wants to develop and open youth academies on that continent.

this is the second part of a four-parts series. the next part will cover the people who could be part of rosell's board. you can read the whole series here.


Read the first part of this series:
The Rosell Project - Part 1: The Club


sources for this series:
el mundo deportivo, sport, el 9 esportiu, as, gol, pelikano, britcorner, intereconomía tv, tv3, rac 1, ràdio barcelona, radio marca and own research