Wednesday 24 September 2008

Youth: Arsenal and Chelsea fight over Deulofeu

British tabloids The Daily Mirror and The Daily Mail claim that English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Chelsea are involved in a fight over Barcelona Cadete A wing attacker Gerard Deulofeu (14) (read more here).


Both clubs are interested in the player with Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and Chelsea director of youth development Frank Arnesen wanting to bring Deulofeu to England. In Spain, youth players cannot sign a contract until they turn 16.

Read more:

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Arsene @ his best!! + the boy has Cesc to tell him thats the way foward + we have a board thats not wise when it comes to business. So all is their (prem teams) favour. I hope he doesnt go tho

Ramzi said...

Nou barca, I don't understand what the board can do, if they cannot tie him to a contract.
he is getting all the appreciation he deserve, having the best academy to polish his talent, and this season pep gave the right example that the team give chances for their youth players almost more than any other team of those who compete seriously for titles. The rest is up to him.

Anonymous said...

He alreasy stated earlier this week that he will not leave Barcelona and has no interest in the English teams. This is the British press, as usual, wasting ink.

Anonymous said...

well, Ramzi, I understand what you mean but my point is you can still put up a fight and allow me use the word "sweet-talk" the lad to stay and wait for his time and sight examples like Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and someday become the cptain like Puyol. I am saying I hope they dont just take a token and let him go.. U can give him a "pep" talk.

Anonymous said...

It's pretty messed up that 14 year old boys can sign contracts and get payed to play football. Money shouldn't be involved when they're that young. That's what I think.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Noubarca, I'm not sure you actually get it.

You're talking about empty talk versus a professional contract ...you know, money? All the talk in the world isn't going to do anything versus a £5000 per week contract. Especially when these kids are 14 and their decisions are often made by the parents, some of whom are greedy (rightfully so). They want their kid to become a superstar. If there are 10 other kids with superstar potential at Barca the chances of your kid becoming a first team player is slim at best.

Making it to the first team is of the utmost importance for all these players, that's when they make the 'real' money. If your choice was stay at Barca and maybe you'll make it, or go to this other club where they'll pay you right away, and there's less competition. Sometimes the right choice is to leave. Ultimately whether the kid becomes a first team player depends on himself, but luck players a role too. What if a kid breaks a leg at age 15 and has to quit soccer? Is Barcelona going to take care of his family for the rest of his career?

There are no guarantees and I think it would be unfair for us to treat them like building blocks for the success of Barcelona. It's not like football manager where we can just discard the player if he doesn't become good enough. These people all have their own personal hopes and dreams.

You also used a lot of quote marks so maybe those words were euphemisms for something more illicit. Unless Barcelona starts doing something illegal like pay these kids under the table we're going to continue to lose some players. We will also retain plenty because they want to make it at Barcelona and they realize at age 16 they'll get a deal at Barca too. Each case is different, each family has a different decision to make. If you want to be really cynical you could say all the major clubs in the world probably already pay their youth under the table, with gifts and jobs for their families. It's just a matter of who offers the best combination of money/empty promises.

Anonymous said...

Obviously the Barca youth program is the best in the world. He will be a better player in the future if he stays in barcelona. He should realize that if he has a little patience and stays put he will likely be a better player and command a higher wage at whatever club he ends up at.

Custom Search
 
Custom Search