Illusion that he was better than MATS? Seriously? Come on, Bravo was immense during his first season.. There was no illusion about it, only one under and illusion was probably you illusion [emoji12] Anyways if they get Diego Alves cheap and sell Bravo expensive I can find my peace with it as long as MATS can bring it.
If Bravo was sold for €100m, the moment ter Stegen conceded a goal the usual suspects would be here posting on how stupid Barca were to let Bravo leave and that the club would have been better off selling MAtS for €1. Guaranteed like Cristiano failing to convert a free kick.
No one is denying Bravo was one of the best goalkeepers and helped us win two Liga titles but so did MATS, one CL and 2 CDR cups with lesser room for errors since they are cup competitions but you still doubt MATS?! Bravo wasn't a world class keeper until he moved to Barcelona. We have to thank Unzue and la Fuente who helped him transform into what he is now.
I think he's talking about Pepe Reina. Some rumors of him being offered to Barca by Napoli. Pep shipped him out of Bayern a couple of years ago. Pep was still in his playing days (in Italy) when Barca sold Pepe back around 2002. That was pre-Laporta/Rijkaard. The Gaspart years. (ugh) Great addition for dressing room atmosphere but unsure how his on-the-pitch performances are these days.
I think that a solid veteran is wanted to back up MAtS (not someone to compete with him for CL and Liga but someone in case of injury who plays CdR only), if we could not sign Diego Alves for a reasonable amount then Pepe might be interesting, but it looks like we can get Diego Alves so it seems moot. 40M but 25M is a nice return on a keeper we got for 12M who is 33. Also, after news leaked a month ago that MAtS wanted to leave for ManC himself if not the Liga starter, leading Barca to assure him he would be the starter, that really hurt our ability to keep Bravo and demand top dollar for him. So, to me, in those circumstances, this was well played by Barca for once in the sale market. And if we also get Diego for a reasonable amount like 5M or so, so much the better.
What is Bravos buyout clause? Well Im reading its 17m£ = 19m€ and its City we are talking about why not demand the 40m€ if they want Bravo? Who else will they want to get? I don't understand it. I think having Bravo on the bench is better than 9m€ in the bank and Diego Alves for 10m€ that Im reading.. that 9m€ extra is absolutely nothing.
I've heard that Bravo to ManCity is as good as a done deal . Reina is being linked to us as a number two - I'd be happy with that tbh It was some pundits on TalkSport who mentioned that they'd heard talk of Cesc being linked with a move back to us ( Barca) . Stranger things have happened , it wasn't LE who sold him after all .
Buyout fees - especially for key players at major clubs - are often inflated to ridiculous amounts to help ward off any potential suitors. The fee is negotiated between both the club (who want as high a buyout fee as possible) and the player/agent (who want as low a fee as possible). Bravo's buyout fee was set at €40m when he signed in 2014. He arrived with the intention of being second choice behind MAtS. But an injury to the German just before the season began elevated Bravo to start the season in goal. And after opening the Liga campaign with, what, 7-8 strasight clean sheets it would have been almost stupid to remove him and put MAtS in goal. This past Spring Barca allowed a 10 point lead slip to 1 point. Bravo was in goal during this time. If we're going to laud him for those clean sheets at the start of the 14-15 season then we should also question his worth for his performances this past March-April. He's on the wrong side of 30 and is two years older than when that €40m buyout fee was set. I believe Buffon is the only goalkeeper to have switched clubs for a fee of over 40m euros. And that was back in 2001 when Serie A clubs were tossing money around as if it was flowing out of a water faucet. Apart from Neuer and De Gea, City could almost have the pick of the litter if they were keen on spending 40 million euros for a goalkeeper. Current market values (from transfermarkt.com): €45m Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) age 30 €40m David de Gea (Manchester United) 25 €35m Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid) 23 €35m Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) 24 €24m Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) 29 €20m Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) 29 €17.5m Mattia Perin (Genoa) 23 €17m Joe Hart (Manchester City) 29 €16m Bernd Leno (Leverkusen) 24 €16m Rui Patrício (Sporting) 28 €15m Sergio Rico (Sevilla) 22 €15m Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona) 24 €15m Fraser Forster (Southampton) €15m Claudio Bravo (Barcelona) 33
Yeah, no thank you, we have a pretty loaded midfield. Rakitic fit in better in year 1 then La Masia trained Cesc ever did, of course it was always hard for any midfielder back when we had a fit Xavi, Ini and Busi here. The Cesc buzz I heard today was more about him going to Real Madrid though it is hard to imagine that at all for a variety of reasons.
http://www.eurosport.com/football/t...wing-chelsea-hissy-fit_sto5724781/story.shtml http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation....-fc-real-madrid-transfer-rumour-report-update https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...-rumours-cesc-fabregas-heading-to-real-madrid
If Cesc were to end up at LPB I can't imagine the reception he would receive if he played for Catalunya during the Christmas/New Year season. I almost want to say that he wouldn't even be selected although I do recall Jordi Codina was named to the squad when he was with mini-LPB in the late 2000s.
Well as LE is on record yesterday saying there will be players leaving and players coming in before deadline day I really don't think Cesc turning up here is THAT unlikely especially if LE really wants him ..
I'd be shocked if (1) LE really wanted him, (2) we had more money to spend in midfield after splashing out on Gomes and also bringing Denis back, plus keeping Turan, Rafinha back from injury, Samper promoted for now (though likely out on loan), (3) if he was willing to come back and thought he could supplant a starter.
God no, I think Cesc is way to slow. Barca midfield has no flare or speed, they need someone who can take on players and pass them, only Iniesta has that imo at the moment, DS and Andre I have no clue about. Thanks but no thanks to Cesc.
Pep wants someone good with his feet so many of those in the list aren't. Bravo has proven track record of that since joining Barcelona, he'll fit in Peps system. Anyway I don't see the point of selling Bravo if there is no substantial financial gain. If Diego Alves comes really cheap then maybe otherwise I honestly don't see the point of weakening the team for a few bucks. I think Bravo can find his peace of being backup and only playing CDR if MATS shines throughout season. You don't know what would have happened if MATS was in goal.. Maybe they'd be no clean sheets and 10 point lead would have been erased and fallen 5p behind... No one will know. I guess my issue with MATS is first impressions lasts and first thing I saw of him was this and I said God I hope he doesn't end up in Barcelona.. LOL But I do think he's much better now, let's see if he can stay fit and I'll change my full opinion.
Or maybe there would have been clean sheets and Barca would have cemented the title well before the final day of play. So you're correct. We will never know. What we do know is that Barca clinched the Liga title with MAtS in goal for the final two matches, including the derbi against Espanyol. Also kept a clean sheet for 120 minutes in the Copa final against a Sevilla team full of confidence following their comeback victory in the Europa League final. This we do know.
Usually that's true but not sure about CL 2014-15 since Barca advanced through all their two-legged series comfortably. Actually, the same is largely true for both CdR's.