Dani Alves calls for FC Barcelona to sign Neymar instead of Real Madrid CF

Barcelona defender Dani Alves wants the Spanish champions to beat rivals Real Madrid to the £40million signing of Santos striker Neymar.

Chelsea, Juventus and Manchester City are also keen on signing the 19-year-old, who is currently on international duty with Brazil at the Copa America.

Neymar's agent, Wagner Ribeiro, has revealed that both Barca and Real Madrid are prepared to meet the player's €45million release clause this summer, although the club continue to insist the teenager is not for sale.

Neymar(credit: Wikipedia)

But should Barca look to lure the forward to Europe, Alves is hopeful that he chooses to join them rather than their rivals.

He told reporters: "I do not imagine myself playing against Neymar, my dream is to share a dressing room with him in the future."

http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Soccer/FC-Barcelona-should-sign-Neymar-says-Dani-Alves-201107070018/

FC Barcelona 2010/11 Season in Review: Seydou Keita

4 months ago: BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 05: Seydou Keita of Barcelona controls the ball during the la Liga match between Barcelona and Real Zaragoza at the Camp Nou stadium on March 5, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Report: Seydou Keita delivered another solid, steady season. He played in the center of the midfield, but the severe drop-off in quality from Xavi and Andres Iniesta to the Malian was clearly noticeable. Keita will never be the most talented player on the pitch, but he always gives his best.

Seydou was in the starting eleven only against less dangerous teams and in the early stages of the Copa del Rey where Pep Guardiola felt that Keita's lesser offensive qualities can still provide enough for a Barcelona win. It has to be said Keita played well, but comparing him to the aforementioned midfield duo would not be fair. Had it not been for Seydou's experience he would have lost even more playing time to Thiago.

Ever since Keita has established himself as a rock-solid midfielder he played in around forty games, but this season he established a new career high as he made 56 appearances, also a team high. Despite all the appearances Keita had a down season when looking at the minutes played column as he started less than half of the games.

Consistency was always Keita's strong point and this season was no different. Seydou provided a steady share of goals and assists and was very responsible on defense. He has now scored six goals in four consecutive season (three with Barcelona).

Moment of the season: Keita scored many beautiful goals and the over the defense assist to Messi was brilliant, but his most important goal of the season came on 6 April against Shakhtar Donetsk. Barcelona were up 3-0 when Yaroslav Rakitskiy made a game out of it and scored the important away goal. But before any doubts of the winners could set in Keita scored on a quick counter to put the game out of reach. Barcelona won the game 5-1

http://www.barcablaugranes.com/2011/7/8/2265104/fc-barcelona-2010-11-season-in-review-seydou-keita

Cesc Fabregas transfer - FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC at stalemate over deal

Cesc Fabregas may not get to join Barcelona until August after talks between the Spanish champions and Arsenal reached a stalemate.

Barca have tabled a new bid for the 24-year-old, but remain some distance away from Arsenal's £40million valuation.

The Daily Mirror yesterday reported that the Catalans have made an offer which they believe is worth £37million as it includes teenagers Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral.

Cesc Fabregas(credit: Ryu Voelkel)

Arsenal signed the 16-year-old's for £350,000 each - a set amount for training fees - but Barca value them at a combined £7m and believe they are owed that amount by the Gunners.

But a bid which in Arsenal's eyes is actually worth £30m was never going to be accepted and according to the Mirror, the north London club are insisting that Bellerin and Toral are removed from the deal.

But Arsenal have reportedly enquired about including Thiago Alcantara as part of the deal, although Barca have rejected that option, having originally offered the midfielder as part of their first bid of the summer.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell this week claimed Fabregas is desperate to return to his boyhood club, but the club's vice-president Josep Bartomeu insists Barca are in no rush to complete a deal.

He said: "The experience of the last few years and of last season shows us that we have right up until the last minute before the season starts [to sign players].

"We made signings very late last season. We have the best team in the world so we can afford to be patient. There is no rush, we have until the last moment."

http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Soccer/Cesc-Fabregas-FC-Barcelona-and-Arsenal-FC-at-stalemate-over-deal-201107080019/

FC Barcelona: The Top 10 Candidates To Ultimately Replace Pep Guardiola

David Ramos/Getty Images

Pep Guardiola will leave FC Barcelona...eventually. He's said so himself: Being at a club more than one year at a time is something very difficult.

So, basically, what Pep is trying to say is he'll be a Barça coach as long as the players, the fans and the club management are comfortable with him. The minute that changes though, it's "Find a coach for the Camp Nou bench" all over again.

If we could ask Laporta if he expected Pep to win two Champions Leagues in his first three years, I'm sure he'd say he didn't expect that kind of success. Especially from a man that had zero games coached in first-level football.

That said, what are the characteristics that made Pep successful?

To me, there are three intangibles that made Guardiola the perfect candidate: faith in the 4-3-3 playing style, offensive and ball-possession mentality and leadership off the field.

This list will take those three values as the benchmark on what to look for to find Josep's eventual possible replacements.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/755519-fc-barcelona-the-top-10-candidates-to-ultimately-replace-pep-guardiola-in-bar

FC Barcelona 2011/2012 Liga Schedule

Lo and behold, the RFEF and the LFP have kindly decided to give us an idea of when matches are to be played next season, to help us get over our bad case of football withdrawal.

The 2010/2011 Liga is dead! Long live the 2011/2012 Liga!

Keep in mind that this doesn’t tell the time, which is decided 7-10 days before the actual match (and they can be moved to Saturday or even Monday, too). So, if you’re planning a trip to watch one of these matches… well, don’t plan too long ahead. Live in the moment! Embrace spontaneity!

In any case, save the date for the Clásicos, which this season will be on Sunday, December 11 (Real Madrid – FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu, though this might change depending on the dates of the Club World Cup) and on Sunday, April 22 (FC Barcelona – Real Madrid, at the Camp Nou).

Find the complete Barça 2011/2012 Liga Schedule under the jump:

2011

August 14 (at 22:00 CET): Spanish Supercup (first leg): Real Madrid – FC Barcelona
August 17 (at 23:00 CET): Spanish Supercup (return leg): FC Barcelona – Real Madrid
August 21: La Liga: Málaga – FC Barcelona
August 26: European Supercup: FC Barcelona – FC Porto
August 28: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Villarreal

September 11: La Liga: Real Sociedad- FC Barcelona
September 18: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Osasuna
September 21: La Liga: Valencia – FC Barcelona
September 25: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Atlético de Madrid

October 2: La Liga: Sporting de Gijón – FC Barcelona
October 16: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Racing
October 23: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Sevilla
October 26: La Liga: Granada – FC Barcelona
October 30: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Mallorca

November 6: La Liga: Athletic de Bilbao – FC Barcelona
November 20: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Zaragoza
November 27: La Liga: Getafe – FC Barcelona

December 4: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Levante
December 11: La Liga: Real Madrid – FC Barcelona
December 18: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Rayo Vallecano

2012

January 8: La Liga: Espanyol – FC Barcelona
January 15: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Real Betis
January 22: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Málaga
January 29: La Liga: Villarreal – FC Barcelona

February 5: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Real Sociedad
February 12: La Liga: Osasuna – FC Barcelona
February 19: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Valencia
February 26: La Liga: Atlético de Madrid – FC Barcelona

March 4: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Sporting de Gijón
March 11: La Liga: Racing – FC Barcelona
March 18: La Liga: Sevilla – FC Barcelona
March 21: FC Barcelona – Granada
March 25: Mallorca – FC Barcelona

April 1: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Athletic de Bilbao
April 8: La Liga: Zaragoza – FC Barcelona
April 11: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Getafe
April 15: La Liga: Levante – FC Barcelona
April 22: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Real Madrid
April 29: La Liga: Rayo Vallecano – FC Barcelona

May 6: La Liga: FC Barcelona – Espanyol
May 13: La Liga: Real Betis – FC Barcelona

http://barcelona.theoffside.com/la-liga/fc-barcelona-20112012-liga-schedule.html

FC Barcelona call for calm as Cesc Fabregas transfer talks continue

Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said there were no new developments on Wednesday in their pursuit of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.

Fabregas is hoping to complete his move to the Spanish champions before the Gunners fly out to Asia this Sunday for a nine-day pre-season tour.

If a deal for the 24-year-old is not agreed by the weekend, it is thought that he could have to wait until after the tour is over for a move to go through.

Cesc Fabregas(credit: Ryu Voelkel)

Arsenal want around £40million for the Spain international, but Barca insist that they are unwilling to pay more than £35m and now value the midfielder at less than they did twelve months ago.

It is still believed a deal will go through despite interest from Real Madrid - who would be able to meet Arsenal's valuation.

But Zubizarreta on Wednesday afternoon claimed talks had not progressed over the past 24 hours.

"Things have not changed," he told reporters. "Much calm is needed in this operation in order to attend to events."

http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Soccer/FC-Barcelona-call-for-calm-as-Cesc-Fabregas-transfer-talks-continue-201107060059/