TheHardTackle summarizes all the latest developments pertaining to Barcelona, as the Blaugranas prepare for their clash against Malaga this weekend.
Croatian wonderkid’s dilemma, updates on injuries, Messi’s future and more feature in today’s Barcelona round-up:
Italian midfield maestro’s regret
Andrea Pirlo was one of the most coveted midfielders in his prime, with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona said to be among his huge list of admirers. And the classy midfielder has now confessed he had an opportunity to join the Blaugrana but things couldn’t materialize.
The NYCFC midfielder revealed his regret of not playing for Pep Guardiola’s all conquering Barcelona team, calling the Catalan the number one coach.
“Pep told me he wanted me in the team. He met me in his office after a pre-season game, we spoke for a long time. How did I feel when he wanted to sign me? How could you not want to go there?”
Unfortunately for Pep and Barcelona fans, Milan rejected the bid and then Pirlo went on to join Juventus on a free transfer a few years later.
The Italian admitted not playing for any one of the two Spanish super-clubs is a thorn in his otherwise vastly successful career, calling it a dream of every player to represent either Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Pirlo also gave his verdict on who he considers as the best player in world.
“Lionel Messi. Everything he’s done so far is unrepeatable.”
Claudio Bravo’s ultimate footballer
Former Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was recently asked by Manchester City’s social media team to describe his ultimate footballer by naming a player for each attribute. Not surprisingly, plenty of current and former Barcelona players featured in his version of the perfect footballer.
For vision, Claudio Bravo opted for midfield magician Andres Ineista, while for left-foot it was, not surprisingly, Lionel Messi. Legendary captain Carles Puyol was selected for passion while for speed it was Alexis Sanchez, his international team-mate. For right-foot, the Brazilian Ronaldo was selected.
A return to Sevilla for Aleix Vidal on the cards?
Aleix Vidal’s €22 million move in 2015 to Barcelona has not gone accordingly to plan, with the defender completely out-of-favour under manager Luis Enrique.
And now, Radio Marca Sevilla has claimed Aleix Vidal personally phoned Monchi, Sevilla’s Sporting director, to express his desire of returning back to his former club in the January window itself.
Diario Sport have since reported that Aleix Vidal has denied making a phone-call to anyone, but Barcelona are said to be willing to consider offers either on loan or permanently for the player in the upcoming transfer window.
Xavi’s assessment of rumoured top target Coutinho
Coutinho has been heavily linked with the Catalan giants by the media of both England and Spain, and there does seem an interest from the Spanish club’s side. While what happens in future remains to be seen, the Brazilian playmaker has already received a seal of approval from former Barcelona midfielder and legend Xavi.
Speaking to Goal, the World-cup winner said, “Coutinho is a player I have always thought is special but under (Jurgen) Klopp he has gone up another level.”
“He has always shown quality but now he is consistently playing well. There are not many players that can improve Barcelona, but if you are asking me if he is one of them, on this form, I think he is. Technically he is very good. He would suit Barcelona’s philosophy well.”
Alen Halilovic’s career at stake
The Croatian midfielder’s development curve as a player has not followed the path he was once expected to, and Barcelona believe Halilovic’s family is behind the derailment.
In an exclusive, Goal revealed before his move to Germany, Barcelona wanted to keep Halilovic in Spain with Villarreal, Sevilla and Valencia showing keen interest in the player. In fact, the deal with Valenica was almost done before Halilovic’s dad demanded a commission worth 50 per cent (€2.5m) of his son’s transfer fee.
The commission, along with the midfielder’s high-wages demand, put-off the other Spanish teams, with only Hamburg now left in the race.
And now even Hamburg, like Barcelona, have become worried about the player’s family’s influence in his day-to-day activities, with questions raised about the Croatian’s willingness to make sacrifices and the trust he has on the club’s handling of him.
Barcelona first became dissatisfied after Alen Halilovic’s family hired a personal coach to manage his development, while Halilovic was still playing for Barcelona B. The Spanish giants have a buy-back clause of €10 million on the 20-year-old until 2018, but it does seem unlikely that the option will be exercised.
Injury updates
Barcelona take on Malaga at the Camp Nou stadium on Saturday, and there are some very positive news in terms of returnees in the buildup to that game. Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto and Jeremy Mathieu have returned to training after recovering from their respective injuries, and are in contention for the game on weekend.
Andres Iniesta is making good progress and has started light individual training. It is expected the Spaniard will miss the next four games but should be back for the all important El Clasico in December. Umtiti is still recovering from his hamstring injury, and will be sidelined for another two weeks.
