Just Barcelona News

As the transfer market draws ever closer, the number of stories, rumours and downright speculation will continue to grow. There are rebuilding plans at a number of big clubs around Europe, including Real Madrid from La Liga, PSG and Monaco in France and Chelsea, Manchester United and City in the English Premier League.

Barcelona are believed to be on the lookout for some new talent, but there will be some old faces on their way out of the Nou Camp as well. Three mentioned in the papers today are the striker David Villa, the keeper Victor Valdes and the right back Dani Alves.   .....Read more here.......

Barcelona are looking to make quite a few changes this summer in a bid to freshen up the team in the aftermath of the Chempions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich. The most obvious area that needs strengthening is the defence, but there will probably be players coming and going all over the pitch.

With David Villa probably on his way out of the Nou Camp this summer, Barca definitely need some more attacking threat, because there is too much reliance on Lionel Messi. Nobody really gave a second thought to the Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney, but in the wake of Alex Ferguson announcing his retirement, it has emerged that Rooney wants to move on as well.   .....Read more here.......

After Barcelona moved inexorably towards a 22nd Spanish title with a narrow victory over Levante on Saturday, all eyes turn to Germany. The Barcelona players are already in Munich for their game against Bayern tomorrow and it appears that the best player on the planet, Lionel Messi, is fit and ready to lead the Barca attack.

The Argentinean striker picked up a hamstring problem in the first leg of the quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain and the club have had him wrapped in cotton wool ever since. He only came on as a substitute in the second leg after PSG scored and Barca were faced with an early exit. Even though he was not fully fit and didn’t score himself, his presence made the team much more dangerous.   .....Read more here.......

Lionel Messi will have a late fitness test today to determine whether he can play for Barcelona tonight and if so, for how long. There will be more difficult decisions for Tito Vilanova to make as well, not least of which is who will be selected to partner Gerard Pique in the centre of defence.

Barca proved they have talent throughout the squad by beating Mallorca 5-0 on Saturday with more than half of the regular first team absent. PSG, however, are likely to provide a much sterner test. It appears that their Brazilian defender Thiago Silva has recovered from a knock and will be able to play, while Ibrahomovic and Lavezzi will be a real threat for them in attack.   .....Read more here.......

Barcelona play the first leg of the Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes tonight, and they are determined to avoid the pressure that they put themselves under in the last round. The turnaround against AC Milan at the Nou camp was magnificent, but was always in danger because of Barca failing to score an away goal.

Towards the end against Milan, the Italian side had a few scoring chances which would have been a disaster, and it was not until Jordi Alba scored at the end that the result was secured. We must avoid that happening again, and the best way to do that is to score a goal tonight.   .....Read more here.......

Despite having taken the Barcelona training session yesterday, Tito Vilanova was not in the dugout for the trip to Celta Vigo. He did pick the team, however, and obviously had the game against Paris Saint-Germain on his mind. David Villa, Iniesta, Busquets and Mascherano were on the bench, while injury and suspension meant that Puyol, Xavi, Alba and Valdes were unavailable. That meant a much weakened side, with some young players getting the chance to impress.

Starting Line Up;
Pinto
Alves, Bartra, Pique, Montoya
Song, Thiago, Fabregas
Alexis, Messi, Tello   .....Read more here.......

The brain of Barcelona is back, and hopefully reinvigorated after his break. Barca will need Xavi Hernandez to be back to his best at the Nou Camp tonight if they are to get to the next round of the Champions League. The midfield maestro has been passed fit by medical experts after recovering from his hamstring problem. Many believe that Barca’s recent problems can be traced back to Xavi’s absence and the fact that he was not at 100 percent before.   .....Read more here.......

There is no official confirmation of when, or even if, the young Brazilian superstar Neymat will become a Barcelona player. According to the Brazilian media, however, it is merely a matter of when, and the consensus seems to be that the transfer will be completed in the summer.

According to Mundodeportivo, the club have been negotiating the terms of Neymar’s arrival for the last 18 months. The 21-year old was believed to be keen to stay at his club Santos until the summer of 2014, when the World cup will be played in Rio, but the belief now is that the striker feels that the time has come to move to the big time in Europe. Neymar already has 17 goals from his 28 senior international games, and has gained enough experience at club level in Brazil.   .....Read more here.......