Summer Transfer Window 22/23

JamesH85 said:
These Ronaldo rumours are too much, athletico Madrid the new one. Can you really see him joining there when Someone asks so much of his players. Ronaldo does not want to do the running.
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Sporting were also mentioned but that was quickly shot down. I don't think Atleti would be prepared to fund Ronaldo, especially as he's not really a natural fit for their system, and it would hurt his legacy with Real Madrid.

I think Bayern would be half tempted if he was prepared to accept less money, but they won't pay him £500k a week. There is a void there now with Lewandowski gone, but they'll probably look for a younger player.

No sign of him joining the tour. He has been training in Portugal I think, it's a bit of a strange situation.
 
Robbo said:
Sporting were also mentioned but that was quickly shot down. I don't think Atleti would be prepared to fund Ronaldo, especially as he's not really a natural fit for their system, and it would hurt his legacy with Real Madrid.

I think Bayern would be half tempted if he was prepared to accept less money, but they won't pay him £500k a week. There is a void there now with Lewandowski gone, but they'll probably look for a younger player.

No sign of him joining the tour. He has been training in Portugal I think, it's a bit of a strange situation.
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Yeah all the rumours last night were his car at sporting training ground, that he was going back on loan.
 
Could see Sporting happening...final hurrah where he started.

Bayern would be amazing for him and he could add another league to his career history. Certainly sure of trophies there too.
 
BaZ87 said:
I know it's easy to just accuse Barca of being mean but all they're doing is what every club in the world could, should and probably would do. They're trying to negotiate the best possible deal for themselves. Nobody is holding a gun to FDJ's head and forcing him to agree to anything - he has a contract with Barca and if they do not honour that agreement without his willingness to change it then he'll be free to leave for nothing. All that's happening right now is Barca are saying he's free to leave, if he wishes but on the basis that he writes off those deferred wages - if he doesn't agree then his existing contract still remains.

Whether this is a bluff from Barca and they'll eventually cave or whether a compromise is reached between the 3 parties, only time will tell.
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They are being ****s plain and simple.

FdJ agreed to defer A LOT of his wages due to COVID to help Barca out. He didn't have to do that.

Barca have agreed a fee to sell him to United. They are clearly happy for him to go.

They are arguing over how much he will accept to leave because contractually they owe him nothing if he leaves now but he can obviously stay and force them to honour the contract.

You can say this is what every club in the world would do but that doesn't make an iota of difference in my view when it comes to Barca being a bunch of ****s. They are haggling over that money that he should have been paid in the first place but wasn't due to him helping them out. They are splashing massive amounts of cash at the same time on new players. Companies putting profit over everything else is also scummy. I don't care that its what most businesses do. Its scummy. When companies sack 20% of their workforce because they are only going to make £100m profit this year instead of £120m its scummy.

As I've said before. If I was Frenkie I would tell them to pay me 100% of the deferred wages from the past 2 years or I will see you for the next 4 years. Haggling over money you should have already paid someone when you are throwing loads of money around doesn't sit right with me.
 
fez said:
They are being ****s plain and simple.

FdJ agreed to defer A LOT of his wages due to COVID to help Barca out. He didn't have to do that.

Barca have agreed a fee to sell him to United. They are clearly happy for him to go.

They are arguing over how much he will accept to leave because contractually they owe him nothing if he leaves now but he can obviously stay and force them to honour the contract.

You can say this is what every club in the world would do but that doesn't make an iota of difference in my view when it comes to Barca being a bunch of ****s. They are haggling over that money that he should have been paid in the first place but wasn't due to him helping them out. They are splashing massive amounts of cash at the same time on new players. Companies putting profit over everything else is also scummy. I don't care that its what most businesses do. Its scummy. When companies sack 20% of their workforce because they are only going to make £100m profit this year instead of £120m its scummy.

As I've said before. If I was Frenkie I would tell them to pay me 100% of the deferred wages from the past 2 years or I will see you for the next 4 years. Haggling over money you should have already paid someone when you are throwing loads of money around doesn't sit right with me.
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Other than saying Barca are being mean, I'm not sure what you're getting at here fez?

FDJ has a contract and if Barca do not honour that contract he can leave for nothing. They are honouring that contract though so why are you getting your knickers in a twist?

Barca are willing to sell him but on certain terms. You cannot force Barca to sell him against their terms and Barca cannot force him to leave unless he's happy with the terms on offer too. This is why there's this stand off now. If and when a compromise is agreed then the deal will move forwards. If a compromise isn't reached then FDJ will remain a Barca player and Barca will continue to have to honour the agreement they (and FDJ) agreed. What's the problem?
 
BaZ87 said:
Other than saying Barca are being mean, I'm not sure what you're getting at here fez?

FDJ has a contract and if Barca do not honour that contract he can leave for nothing. They are honouring that contract though so why are you getting your knickers in a twist?

Barca are willing to sell him but on certain terms. You cannot force Barca to sell him against their terms and Barca cannot force him to leave unless he's happy with the terms on offer too. This is why there's this stand off now. If and when a compromise is agreed then the deal will move forwards. If a compromise isn't reached then FDJ will remain a Barca player and Barca will continue to have to honour the agreement they (and FDJ) agreed. What's the problem?
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Its pretty simple, I'm calling them a bunch of ****s because they are trying to sell him and avoid paying as much as possible of his deferred wages as they can whilst splashing the cash elsewhere.

The situation is very simple and clear. My point is quite literally that they are being ********. The same way that players can be ********, clubs can too. I don't see how you don't have any issue with Barcas behaviour from a moral standpoint.
 
I imagine Barca would also have to pay him in a lump sum too which could be an issue for them. If they keep him, the presumably those deferred wages are spread over a couple years which makes it financially easier.

I would kind of agreed with @fez, i think people would be a lot more tolerant of Barca if it wasn't for the fact they seem to be spending a lot of money elsewhere. If they were genuinely broke and struggling to pay him off, there'd be a little more sympathy.
 
I believe Man Utd upped the initial transfer fee by £8m to cover off some of the deferred wages from Barca's side - that's what clinched the agreement. So they're probably trying to sort out the remaining balance they owe FDJ (around £7.5m).
 
fez said:
Its pretty simple, I'm calling them a bunch of ****s because they are trying to sell him and avoid paying as much as possible of his deferred wages as they can whilst splashing the cash elsewhere.

The situation is very simple and clear. My point is quite literally that they are being ********. The same way that players can be ********, clubs can too. I don't see how you don't have any issue with Barcas behaviour from a moral standpoint.
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Martynt74 said:
I imagine Barca would also have to pay him in a lump sum too which could be an issue for them. If they keep him, the presumably those deferred wages are spread over a couple years which makes it financially easier.

I would kind of agreed with @fez, i think people would be a lot more tolerant of Barca if it wasn't for the fact they seem to be spending a lot of money elsewhere. If they were genuinely broke and struggling to pay him off, there'd be a little more sympathy.
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Everybody seems to be missing one very crucial thing here. Barca cannot force him to leave. If FDJ does not agree to whatever is on offer then he doesn't have to and will remain a Barca player and Barca will have to pay him those deferred wages. What is the issue?

I don't have any issue with Barca's behaviour because Barca have not broken the agreement they made with FDJ. When a club and a player reach an agreement then both parties have to accept that if the other doesn't agree to breaking it then they're both stuck with it. The reality is both the player and club will try to exploit the other when it suits them though. How many players have Utd or Liverpool signed over the years that have flopped? What do they do in those circumstances? Do they say don't worry, you sit there for the next 5 years while we pay you that fat contract or do they do everything in their power to force that player out of the club? Likewise, how often does a player 12 months into a 5 year deal turn around to their club and ask for a pay rise because there's a bit of interest in them?

And do you really want to take a moral stand on this fez? Football is morally bankrupt. Man Utd are currently under investigation for fiddling their taxes and I have absolutely no doubt that FDJ would have negotiated his contract with Barca in a way that pays the bare minimum in the way of a salary and the maximum possible in the form of image rights, all paid into a company set up in some tax haven, so that he has to pay as little tax possible.
 
BaZ87 said:
Everybody seems to be missing one very crucial thing here. Barca cannot force him to leave. If FDJ does not agree to whatever is on offer then he doesn't have to and will remain a Barca player and Barca will have to pay him those deferred wages. What is the issue?
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Not missing that at all. He can sit there for the rest of his contract if he wants but Barca can also make his life miserable and waste years of his career.

BaZ87 said:
I don't have any issue with Barca's behaviour because Barca have not broken the agreement they made with FDJ.
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I give up. If you don't think there is any issue with their behaviour from a decency point of view then I'm not going to change your mind. This view is akin to those who say that its OK to avoid tax through loopholes because its not illegal.

BaZ87 said:
How many players have Utd or Liverpool signed over the years that have flopped? What do they do in those circumstances? Do they say don't worry, you sit there for the next 5 years while we pay you that fat contract or do they do everything in their power to force that player out of the club? Likewise, how often does a player 12 months into a 5 year deal turn around to their club and ask for a pay rise because there's a bit of interest in them?
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I mean, United certainly just let them sit there for years. Quite often we renew their contract as well.

I still don't understand how you can't see that the FdJ situation is different to all the examples you have given.

BaZ87 said:
And do you really want to take a moral stand on this fez? Football is morally bankrupt. Man Utd are currently under investigation for fiddling their taxes and I have absolutely no doubt that FDJ would have negotiated his contract with Barca in a way that pays the bare minimum in the way of a salary and the maximum possible in the form of image rights, all paid into a company set up in some tax haven, so that he has to pay as little tax possible.
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I am not Man Utd and if they have been fiddling their taxes then they should be fined and made to pay whatever is due...

I have no idea what FdJ does with his taxes etc and I doubt you do either. You are making up strange "what ifs" that are very different and completely irrelevant to this discussion. Pointing at someone else and saying "they are doing bad stuff too" doesn't make what Barca are up to any better.
 
fez said:
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It's very simple fez. You're only argument seems to be that Barca aren't being fair or not doing what you want them to do. My response is so what and why the **** should they?

FDJ and Barca have a contract and the only way that contract can be broken is if both parties agree. What Barca want or what FDJ wants counts for ****. If they cannot find a compromise then they both have to accept what they signed. Nothing else matters.

And the point re Utd and FDJ's tax affairs is because you made a comment about morals. Nobody has morals in football. Almost all major clubs and players have hugely complicated contracts, with payments being paid through a web of companies dotted around the world. Not only isn't this morally acceptable, it's often illegal. So no, I'm not going to be upset by Barca not being fair with FDJ. Nor was I upset when Ozil refused to take a pay cut at Arsenal two seasons ago. Nor was I upset when Spurs refused to sell Kane last summer. Players and clubs have to accept that if they sign a contract they have to honour it, unless the other party agrees to break it too. I have no sympathy for anybody that doesn't accept that.
 
Barca - Would you mind doing us a favour and reduce your wages and we'll pay them back later once we're through COVID?
FDJ - Sure
...
Barca - Damn we're still a mess... would you mind leaving to help us balance the books?
FDJ - Yeah but I postponed a lot of my salary to help you... Will you pay them back?
Barca - No... we're spending it on other players.
FDJ - I thought you were balancing the books...
Barca - We've agreed a deal with United
FDJ - And my deferred wages?
Barca - Please go...

Yeah seems perfectly reasonable from Barca :rolleyes:
 
That's not what's happening though :confused:

Edit: FDJ received an extended contract to compensate for the dererred wages and Barca are not, nor can they, force him to leave.
 
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The biggest surprise is that when an agreement was made to defer the wages, there apparently wasn't anything to cover how repayments would be handled if the player was sold before the contract was up.

When FdJ and other players agreed to defer wages, surely this type of scenario should have been considered and a signed agreement then in place for how the (back)payments handled.

Isn't that the job of the players advisors and agents?
 
div0 said:
The biggest surprise is that when an agreement was made to defer the wages, there apparently wasn't anything to cover how repayments would be handled if the player was sold before the contract was up.

When FdJ and other players agreed to defer wages, surely this type of scenario should have been considered and a signed agreement then in place for how the (back)payments handled.

Isn't that the job of the players advisors and agents?
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Any agreement wouldn't be worth the paper it's written on without a full buyout clause being in place. Unless Barca get the money they want, after any pay offs, then they won't sell.

Barca will have a bottom end figure in mind from this deal. They will push for the most they can possible receive but if that figure is met, ultimately they'll deal. They don't care whether that amount is x from Utd minus no pay off or x plus £17m with a £17m payoff. If Barca were forced into paying that money to FDJ, they'll just add on the pay off to their demands.

Barca could very well be bluffing and will ultimately back down but right now they hope or believe that either FDJ will write off some of that money or Utd will offer him more to compensate it.
 
I don't know why we are still going for him as Maguire is still the captain so he will be playing and we have signed Martinez who I expect will be in a CDM role because of slab head and we have already signed a LB and we have plenty to choose from already so he will not be going there.

That leaves Fred, DVB, Mcsauce and potentially James Garner for the other MF spot.

Then you have Bruno and Eriksson for the creative role. Where does FDJ fit in all this?

I would rather we just walked away from the deal and leave Barca red faced putting themselves into even more financial ruin. They have already sold their future financial income just to have cash to compete now. It is all desperately sad.
 
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I’m expecting Martinez to be playing left centre back, from what ETH has said previously.

FDJ is a far, far better deep creative playmaker than anyone else we have, and that’s a critical role.

Eriksen can play anywhere really, especially against the weaker teams.

Stripping Maguire of the captaincy this early would just create drama. If he’s playing poorly then ETH will phase him out.
 
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