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Barcelona signings, news, debt, how did Barcelona sign players? Spotify sponsorship, Frenkie de Jong latest

Barcelona signings, news, debt, how did Barcelona sign players? Spotify sponsorship, Frenkie de Jong latest

Barcelona’s attempts to establish themselves once again as a force in La Liga and the Champions League this season have seen the heavily-indebted Catalans gamble with their future to enable a striking summer spending spree.

A year after being forced to let Lionel Messi go as eye-watering reported debts of 1.35 billion euros (A$1.96 billion) crippled the club, Barcelona have spent 153 million euros (A$222m) on transfer fees alone to strengthen their squad, with Robert Lewandowski the most notable new arrival.

“This is a really exciting season. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to make all the fans happy,” coach Xavi Hernandez said before last weekend’s 6-0 friendly win over Mexican side Pumas UNAM.

“That means winning trophies. That is our main objective.”

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After three years of struggles, on and off the field, the summer has seen hope return to the Camp Nou, with president Joan Laporta talking of an exciting “new era” when the club unveiled Lewandowski as a Barcelona player.

“Euphoria” was the headline on the cover of local daily Sport the same day. Even partisan Madrid-based sports daily Marca admitted that Barca were “frightening” in the wake of their drubbing of Pumas UNAM last weekend, when Lewandowski scored his first goal since his arrival from Bayern Munich.

Yet how Barcelona have gone about raising the funds to sign Lewandowski, as well as centre-backs Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen, AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, and Leeds United’s Brazilian winger Raphinha have raised eyebrows.

Faced with severe limits on spending in order to comply with La Liga’s financial controls, Barcelona knew they needed to raise money quickly to be able to invest in any signings and, crucially, to register any new players.

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– PULLING ‘LEVERS’ –

They quickly set about selling off assets to bring in money by activating a series of what have been called economic “levers”.

The club sold 25 per cent of their domestic television rights for the next quarter of a century to US investment firm Sixth Street for some 400 million euros.

Barcelona sold 24.5 per cent of Barca Studios, which manages the club’s digital business and audiovisual productions, to Socios.com for 100 million euros on August 1, and then another 25 per cent to US investment firm GDA Luma for 100 million euros more.

In the space of a few weeks, 600 million euros had been brought in to fill the coffers.

The aim was to clean up the club’s finances, make it possible to increase the salary limit set by La Liga and allow the new signings to all be registered for the start of the season.

On top of that, Barca signed the biggest sponsorship deal in their history with Spotify, bringing in a reported 435 million euros for the music streaming giant to feature on the club’s shirts and to have naming rights to the Camp Nou.

All up, that series of deals totals 1 billion euros – so Barcelona look well placed to become serious title contenders again as they prepare to host Rayo Vallecano this weekend.

Only time will tell if mortgaging part of the club’s assets in exchange for an immediate influx of cash will bear fruit.

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– DE JONG TO LEAVE? –

Yet, Barcelona are still waiting for La Liga to allow them to register their five new signings, although they hope to be able to do so in time for the season starting this weekend.

They are also hoping to further ease their financial problems by reducing their wage bill.

The Catalans have been trying to persuade Frenkie de Jong to leave, with suggestions even made that a contract he signed in 2020 was not legal. The Dutch midfielder says he wants to stay.

FULL STORY: Barca threaten legal action over contract drama — Rumor Mill

Martin Braithwaite, Samuel Umtiti and Memphis Depay are also candidates to depart the Camp Nou, with the latter reportedly a target for Juventus.

On top of that, efforts have been made to persuade certain players, including Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets, to accept wage reductions.

Barca’s “economic miracle”, as the press have called it, still has to be transformed into a footballing miracle.

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Mark Schwarzer says Cristiano Ronaldo must move on, Manchester United, Erik ten Hag, transfer rumours, next club, updates, latest

Mark Schwarzer says Cristiano Ronaldo must move on, Manchester United, Erik ten Hag, transfer rumours, next club, updates, latest

Premier League great Mark Schwarzer believes it’s time for Cristiano Ronaldo to part ways with Manchester United, amid the constant speculation about the disgruntled stars future.

Ronaldo appears to be heading towards an ugly exit from Manchester United after he missed the clubs pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia last month.

It’s believed that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is chasing a transfer away from the Red Devils after they failed to qualify for the Champions League last season.

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While Ronaldo did return to Manchester United’s match day squad for a pre-season clash with Spanish club Rayo Vallecano on Monday (AEST), he was subbed off at halftime.

After storming out of Old Trafford with 10 minutes to play in that match, manager Erik ten Hag is reportedly set to bench the star striker for their Premier League season opener on Sunday.

It was an act that had Hag branded as “unacceptable” as the Dutchman looks to assert his authority.

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Schwarzer said that while both the club and ten Hag have done well to manage the recent drama and speculation, it might be time to find Ronaldo a deal with another club.

“It’s time for him to move on. I still think he could add something to Manchester United but I don’t see him as a week-in week-out starter and that’s obviously what he demanded last season,” Schwarzer said on the Gegen Pod.

“He was their leading goal scorer, he was the player that got them out of more trouble than anyone else. I kind of understand it. But now you’re talking about building a side.

“For Cristiano Ronaldo, we all know he’s running out of time. He wants to win trophies, he wants to win things, he wants to win another Ballon d’Or for sure, (but I) don’t think that’s going to happen.

“I reckon it’d be amazing if he went to Atletico Madrid… there’s massive resistance from fans and some people from within the club.”

European giants including Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have all reportedly turned down the chance to sign the 37-year-old.

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He has also been linked with a stunning return to his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon, who have qualified for this year’s Champions’ League group stage.

Another player under pressure in Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, who was recently warned about his underwhelming form with the Premier League champions last season.

Former Aston Villa striker Tony Cascarino told talkSPORT that Grealish could leave the Etihad and “end up back at Villa” if the £100m player doesn’t improve.

Schwarzer, who is widely considered to be a Premier League legend, doesn’t think that the 26-year-old has lived up to the expectation believed of him when he signed for City.

“I think he’s a million miles away from even the player he was at Aston Villa,” he added.

“He’s an interesting one. His relationship with Erling Haaland, how that’s going to develop, how that’s gonna flourish. We talk about big signings and I think Haaland, Darwin Nunez, these guys they will fit in, they will score goals.

“It will be a battle of who will finish top at the end of the season, I’ve got no doubt.”

The Premier League kicks off with a match between Crystal Palace and Champions League hopefuls Arsenal at Selhurst Park.

Manchester United don’t get their season underway until 11pm on Sunday against Brighton at Old Trafford.

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Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski says farewell to former Bayern Munich teammates during brief visit

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski says farewell to former Bayern Munich teammates during brief visit

New Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said farewell to his former Bayern Munich teammates and club staff during a brief visit to the Bundesliga champions’ headquarters on Tuesday, despite his rocky departure from the club.

The Poland forward, who scored 344 goals for Bayern in 375 games during his eight years in Germany, joined Barca in a deal worth €45 million last month after forcing a move away.

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Lewandowski and Bayern bosses have publicly criticized each other over the transfer, with the striker saying there had been a lot of “politics” from Bayern who he said were “trying to find an argument” to sell him.

Bayern in turn said the situation had been caused by the player who asked to leave despite having a contract to 2023.

“Everything is fine,” Lewandowski told Sky television from his car before driving away from the club offices. “I met everyone and thanked them. I will never forget what I received here and what I experienced.

“That is the most important thing for me. Last week was a bit complicated but sometimes this is part of football.”

Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic spoke with Lewandowski during his brief visit and they cleared the air.

“Robert came into my office to say goodbye and we talked for 15 minutes,” he said in a club statement.

“I addressed everything and we cleared everything. Robert did great things for Bayern and that’s what should remain. He knows as well what he has to thank Bayern for.”

Lewandowski won almost every domestic and international club honor with Bayern, including eight Bundesliga titles, three German Cups, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

He is the Bundesliga’s second highest all-time scorer behind the late Gerd Muller.

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England wins women’s Euro 2022, Leah Williamson handball, Germany, video, latest, highlights

England wins women's Euro 2022, Leah Williamson handball, Germany, video, latest, highlights

England won a major women’s tournament for the first time as Chloe Kelly’s extra-time goal secured a 2-1 victory over Germany at a sold out Wembley on Sunday.

In front of a record crowd of 87,192 for any match in the history of the European Championships, Kelly prodded home a loose ball from close range to end English football’s 56-year wait for a World Cup or Euro victory.

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England looked set for victory in the 90 minutes when substitute Ella Toone’s sublime chip over Merle Frohms put the hosts in front.

Germany showed remarkable resilience to bounce back as Lina Magull leveled 11 minutes from time.

But for once, England were not to be denied a major tournament success. Kelly fought back from an anterior cruciate ligament tear to be fit in time for the tournament and made herself a national hero by being in the right place to pounce when Germany failed to clear a corner in the 110th minute.

The Manchester City winger tore her shirt off in celebration in scenes reminiscent of Mia Hamm’s famous reaction to scoring the winning penalty for the USA at the 1999 World Cup.

Fortune did not favor Germany, who lost captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp to a muscle injury in the warm-up.

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But England will feel their time for some luck was due as 12 months on from the Three Lions’ defeat on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 men’s final, the nation’s women went one better.

While England enjoy the celebrations, Germany manager Martin Voss-Tecklenburg was left aggrieved by the decision not to award a penalty to her side in the first half of Sunday’s Euro 2022 final defeat to England.

Lionesses captain Leah Williamson escaped after the ball hit her hand in a goalmouth scramble with the score still at 0-0.

After a VAR check, Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul was not told to review her initial decision not to give a penalty.

“On this level at the end of the European Championships this shouldn’t happen,” said Voss-Tecklenburg.

“I’d like to have a discussion why did not one look at it? This is something I would really like to ask. It happened to us today, but if it had happened to them I would feel the same. It really bothers me.”

Football's home. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Football’s home. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Germany suffered a major blow even before kick-off when captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp was forced to pull out in the warm-up due to a muscle injury.

Voss-Tecklenburg said the Wolfsburg striker, who had scored six goals in five games in the tournament, had suffered the injury in training on Saturday.

“We tried everything. Yesterday at the end of final training there were some problems, which we didn’t expect,” she added.

“This morning it looked a bit better but it was clear the decision had to be hers. I trusted her 1000 percent and today she said she couldn’t run or shoot properly.

“I have even higher respect to her to say that after such a special tournament, she won’t play a final. She is a great personality.”

German newspaper Bild called the final “another Wembley fraud”. England’s only previous major tournament win in either the men’s or women’s game came in the 1966 World Cup with a 4-2 win over West Germany that is still remembered for the Three Lions’ controversial third goal that may not have crossed the line.

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Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners marred by post-match violence, Leichhardt Oval, footage, video

Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners marred by post-match violence, Leichhardt Oval, footage, video

Sydney FC’s thrilling Australia Cup victory over the Central Coast Mariners has been marred by disturbing post-match footage of crowd troubles outside of Leichhardt Oval on Sunday night.

The Sky Blues beat the Mariners on penalties after the two sides were locked at 3-3 at the end of extra-time.

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But in an unfortunate turn of events, the result has been overshadowed by violence in the car park after the full time whistle had been blown.

Video of the incident was first posted online by veteran sports reporter Ray Gatt.

Two sets of hooded individuals were seen hurling projectiles such as rocks, barriers and flares at one another as spectators, some with young families, were forced to return back into the stadium for their own safety.

In an official statement, the Mariners confirmed that none of their own fans were involved in the incident at any stage and condemned the behaviors and actions of those who were.

“We would like to applaud and thank all of our traveling supporters and how they conduct themselves,” the statement read.

“The club does not condone such behaviour. There is no place for it in football and this incident had nothing to do with the match.”

According to Sydney FC CEO Adam Santo, the participating parties did not even attend the match itself.

“I would rather celebrate the exciting finish to our match tonight however we are assisting police with the incident that occurred outside the ground,” Santo posted on Twitter.

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“Reports at the scene appear those responsible were not in attendance at our match.

“Fortunately it appears no-one was injured.”

An official Sydney FC statement corroborated Santo’s account in terms of no attending fans having any hand in the post-match scenes.

“Sydney FC were disappointed to see the incident that took place outside Leichhardt Oval at the conclusion of the Australia Cup match,” the statement read.

“As far as we are aware, the parties involved had not attended the match, and we are grateful to stadium security and NSW police who cleared the area within minutes.

“Football is the most inclusive, safe and welcoming sport and those involved do not represent our game.”

Sydney FC star striker Adam Le Fondre shared that his family was unfortunately caught up in the “disgraceful scenes.”

“Awful stuff to see,” Le Fondre wrote on Twitter.

“My mrs was caught with our 3 girls in the car park trying to leave whilst this was happening!! Disgraceful scenes.”

An eyewitness account from an individual named Stefan detailed the frightening situation that was unfolding in front of him, his wife and his two-year-old daughter.

“It was probably about 15 minutes after the game finished when we heard all this ruckus while walking to the car park,” Stefan told The Daily Telegraph.

“We saw a barrier being thrown and while I was holding my two-year-old daughter, a flare flew overhead and landed only a couple meters away from us.

“There was a lot of screaming and shouting, objects were flying around overhead and rocks were going past us.”

NSW Police confirmed the incident is under investigation.

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