Barcelona in 3rd Place

If Barca are to get rid of Ronaldinho, i think they should make a bid for either Lulinha or Kerlon, the two youthful wonderful Brazilians. Recent history, over the 14 to 15 years, that barca tends to perform better with the inclusion of a skillful Brazilian on the team.


For instance the year after Rivaldo left, barca had Motta, Rochemback (the worst of them all), and Geovanni, on the team. None of these players being skillful enough to help Barca. The year afterward "we" aquired Ronaldo de Assis Moreira Gaucho aka Ronaldinho, who did wonders for bara.


This is why i personlally think barca can get rid of Ronaldinho but they need to bring back a brazilian wonder kid to the team, so as to assist, Bojan and Dos Santos, the future of Barcelona's football.


By Joseph Pierre
(posted by a reader)

Barcelona will face Manchester United in the semi-finals of the Champions League, after stuttering past Schalke 1-0 at the Camp Nou to complete a 2-0 aggregate victory.

Yaya Toure's first-half strike provided the solitary high note to a wholly unconvincing performance from Frank Rijkaard's side, who did little to defuse growing frustration among their supporters.

Armed with a 1-0 lead from the first-leg, Barca lined up with Thierry Henry and Bojan Krkic in support of Samuel Eto'o. It was a statement of attacking intent, but they found themselves forced to defend for almost the entirety of a one-sided first half.

Schalke started with real purpose. Eight minutes in, Halil Altintop came close to levelling the tie with a wicked shot which drew a smart save from Victor Valdes. As the ball span from his glove, the Barca goalkeeper reacted quickly to grab hold at the second attempt.

Barcelona will now face Manchester United.

FC Barcelona sees revenue prospects surge to all-time high.


Since assuming office in 2003, Barca president, Joan laporta has done well for himself and the club, turning around a huge deficit he inherited to create one of the financially sound clubs and sporting outfits in the present day world of sports. To add to its already soaring earnings, two major deals have been struck by the club management, which will bolster the coffers at Camp Nou and give the club an income of €400m-a-year and around €100m of that could be used to buy players. The first, and largest, contract that has been signed is with television company Mediapro for the rights to Barça's games and will see the club receive €750m between the 2008/2009 and 2012/2013 campaigns. That will see Barça earn around €160m-a-year, which is nearly €40m more than they currently receive.


Added to that is the contract with sportswear giant Nike which has been renewed for around €30m-a-year, although both parties have been sworn to secrecy over the figures involved. Barça were receiving €15m-a-year from the company to manufacture their kits and apparel, but Sport believe that has now doubled.
FC Barcelona has also benefitted immensely from goodwill, as the outfit, which is more than a club, has partnerships with world charity organisations like the Unicef and the UNESCO.

The overall prospects of the great club look better than ever, with more ideas and designs still in the pipeline and ready for implementation.

News of Premiership options grow as FC Barcelona remain stalled in talks with Giovani's agent.


Self-proclaimed super agent, Pini Zahavi is upping the scales on Giovani do Santos as a contract with FC Barcelona is yet to be signed. Pini, who is a close friend to Chelsea's billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich, is more in favour of Giovani playing for an English Premiership side than the Mexican starlet staying at Barca. A rumoured 15 Million Euro price tag has been placed on Giovani as the Barca left-footer has been offered to Manchester United, Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspurs, who are all thought to be interested in the talented youngster.


Giovani however, feels more attached to FC Barcelona than to any other club. Dos Santos has his contract with the Blaugrana running till June 30 2008, after which a fresh contract with Barca will take effect or the winger will leave. So far, no agreement has been reached between Barca and Giovani's camp on the terms of a new contract. With Pini still central in negotiating among members of Gio's party, things could yet remain stalled and complicated.