In Defense of Barça: Written With Catalan Pride for Everyone Else

(Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

This article is intended to proportionate a clean and fair discussion. People who only read my side of the story because their culés or Deep's side, because their Madridistas, should forget about commenting on this debate.

To all Madridistas,

My Madridista colleague said that he only went through the transfer fees from the two years "because Laporta's comments were recent. I just wanted to show what he was doing and what he was saying".

Well, Laporta has been in the office since 2003, so what has he really done:

In his first year he signed seven players for €44m.—27m. for Ronaldinho, 6m. for Quaresma, 5m. for Rafa Márquez, 4m. for Luís Garcia, 2,4m. for Mário. Both Rüstü and Gio van Bronckhorst came for €0. Later on in January Edgar Davids arrived on a loan from Juventus.

In the coming season Barça let go 16 players and bought nine others for aprrox.€64m.—Eto'o, Deco, Edmillson, Sylvinho, Giuly, Belletti, Larsson, Maxi López, Albertini.

In 2007 Henry arrived alongside Abidal, Yaya Touré, and Milito.

(The rest of the purchases can be read in Deep's first article.)

Do I really need to say what Florentino Pérez has done over the years?

Let alone the signings of Figo, Zizou, Ronaldo, Beckham, and Michael Owen cost around €200m.!

That is much more than what Barça spent to build the team that won the treble and dismantled Real Madrid 2-6 at the Bernabeu.

On the "only expenditure matters" thingy

Sorry, but it does not. This is how you spot a Madridista—for them football is business only. 

So if I would say that Real Madrid's recent moves (past seasons) are a failure, in the eyes of Deep they would not be a failure since, from an economical point of view, Real Madrid did not lose that much money. Well, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Huntelaar and Robben weren't exactly "best buys" were they? 

They were terrible additions to a squad that led to a humilliation of "los merengues."

Michael Owen—benched. Nice addition? Oh yes, since we still profited from it.

This expenditure matters attitude is completely wrong, since you have to see who will Barça be buying and who they let go of.

Deep forgot to mention the departure of Cáceres (€16m.) and Gudjohnsen's €2,5m.

After going through the official website of Sport (one of Barcelona's newsapers) I found out that Ibra cost €66m., Keirrison €14m., Maxwell €4,5m., and Chygrinskiy €25m..

With Keirrison being loaned out, Cáceres being sold, like Gudjohnsen, Barça has a net expenditure of €61m.!

So, the difference is now of: €59,3m.!

A little more than the €20m. mentioned in D's article.

The target profile issue

I will stay loyal to my statement: Real Madrid prefers well established players over developing talents. 

There I said it: Just two examples—Figo and Ronaldo.

Figo was developed at Barcelona, who bought him when he won the FIFA WPOTY award? Real Madrid did.

Ronaldo was developed at PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona. Then he went to Inter and when he was already really well established who bought him? Real Madrid did.

When Real Madrid, under Calderón, decided to buy young talents (the Dutch squadron) they just collapsed. So do not throw sand at my eyes with net expenditure.

Barcelona also buys established players? Yes, but Henry was 30 at the time when he transfered, Gudjohnsen is no young man, is he? Hleb was bought for the bench basically, Ronaldinho was seen as a rough diamond back in the day. If he owes his quality to someone it is to the staff at Barcelona. 

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