Barcelona Revolution: Good For The EPL?

After a second season without trophies in a row, a Catalan revolution is on the cards at the Nou Camp.

A loss later today against arch rivals and champions of La Liga, Real Madrid, would almost certainly make this a reality.

The Barcelona board have already exclaimed their displeasure at their poor season, blaming complacency at every level of the club from the boardroom down to the players.

Frank Rijkaard's tenure as manager seems as good as over, even if they were to win against Madrid, but many top players may follow him out of the door.

But will the EPL benefit from this?

I think it will benefit hugely.

Few Barca players will be willing to join rivals Madrid, or any other Spanish club. So for the "superstars" of the Nou Camp that leaves two realistic possibilities. The EPL and Serie A.

A taster of the players that could be likely victims of the re-shuffle are Samuel Eto'o, Deco, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry and Eric Abidal.

They are likely to keep hold of their promising youngsters such as Lionel Messi (although they may not be able to resist the rumoured £80m offer from Chelsea), Bojan and Yaya Toure.

But the possible victims have all been linked with moves to England.

Eto'o has been linked with Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool for a long time, with more recent interest from coming Man City and Tottenham. If Eto'o leaves, then it's more than likely he'll come to England.

Deco has also been linked with a host of English clubs, and could be tempted by the prospect. However, I can see him excelling in the Serie A even more than he would in England.

Ronaldinho looks set to go to Italy, be it to AC or Inter Milan, rather than England, but, again, there has been huge interest in him here. With Man City and Chelsea rumoured to be looking at him.

Thierry Henry has said he would like to stay at the Nou Camp, but the board don't seem too keen. If he were to leave, I'm almost certain that he would come back to England, more than likely to Arsenal, although Chelsea have expressed an interest. Whether he would go to Stamford Bridge, however, is another matter.

Eric Abidal has been touted as a possible transfer target for Liverpool, as a replacement for John-Arne Riise, who has been heavily linked with a move away from Anfield.

Barca are also likely to try and keep Victor Valdes and their two main centre backs, Marquez and Puyol, but with the wholesale changes they may struggle to stem the flow of interest from other clubs.

Then of course there are others such as Thuram and Zambrotta. Two World Cup winning full backs, and legends for their respective countries, who I would love to see play in the Premier League.

So, if indeed there is to be the expected summer sale in Spain, I look forward to seeing a number of top-class players make their way to England, and possibly a top class manager.

Frank Rijkaard next Chelsea manager? I wouldn't bet against it.