Vice president Yuste: "I felt sad for Villa"

Barcelona sports vice president Rafael Yuste gave an interview to Catalan sports paper Sport.





Which transfer operation was your debut?
The sale of Ronaldinho. That's where I learnt that a football player always ends up playing where he wants to play. For us, the best option was Manchester City, but he wanted to go to Milan and he ended up in Milan.

What do you think of this world of football?
Well... Complicated. It's about persons, so there's a human factor you should be able to manage. And then you have the clubs, coaches, intermediaries, press... It's very complicated.

You had signed Villa?
The boy wanted to come. We went to Madrid to close the operation with Valencia but at the last minute they asked an exaggerated sum of money that was above our budget. I felt sad for Villa that it didn't go through.

So then you went after Ibrahimovic...
He was the dream of Guardiola. And ours, but it always seemed something far, impossible, until we decided to actually try it.

That suddenly crossed your mind...
I've always been very persistent and I think nothing is impossible. I thought there was a possibility if we could convince Eto'o. We had one advantage: we knew that the dream of Ibra was to play at Barça.

And so you went to Milan...
That's where we already had a series of circumstances that helped us. Moratti was in Milan, we could land at the airport that same afternoon when we returned from Ukraine and the president negotiated very well. You can see the result - Ibra seemed impossible but we signed him.

Let's see if the same happens with Ribéry...
No, Bayern doesn't want to sell him. The day they put him on the market, we'll be the first to be informed.

What about Mascherano, Chygrynskiy, Cesc...?
We know that the priorities of Pep are a centre-back and a midfielder. We'll make a decision when the moment is there. To uptouch a Picasso is very difficult.

Read more:
Laporta on Cesc, Messi and Ibrahimovic
Assistant coach wants one or two more transfers

Guardiola about the incoming transfers

At a press conference, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola talked today about the incoming transfers.



Henrique
He's here to stay. He'll help us a lot. He has adapted well at Bayer Leverkusen and played a lot. I've heard good things about him and we'll see how he fits into the squad.

Maxwell
He's been at the top for years. He's played at Ajax and Inter and he'll bring us a lot.

Keirrison
He's very young and has very good stats. Scoring isn't easy. The club has decided to get him but in principle that's to send him out on loan and he's not in my plans for this season.

Ibrahimovic
He's still an Inter player. We cannot have him and Eto'o. We're rich, but not that rich. It won’t happen. You don't want too many players in key positions and both of them are starters.

Ribéry
I think it's impossible to sign him. He won't come, firstly because Bayern won't let him and secondly because his agent wants him to go elsewhere.”

Villa
I spoke to him.

Unai Emery: Villa Belongs to Valencia

Asked about the situation of Valencia striker and Spanish international David Villa (27) Valencia coach Unai Emery was quoted by Madrid based tabloid AS:

"I have not spoken with Villa but I have kept in constant contact with the club and they have always told me that he will remain with us.

It’s true that a few months ago, his exit was a possibility but the club have stopped all negotiations so he'll be back at the club. So for me, there is no debate. Villa is ours and that’s that.

I never at any moment heard that he wanted to leave. In any case, when he returns he will be as motivated and competitive as usual, he will fight and he will be looking to score a lot of goals."

AS also believes that due to fear of negative fan reaction, Valencia would hold a press conference in the near future to allow Villa a chance to restore his relationship among Valencia fans.

Read more:
Missing the Barça train
Villa decides to stay at Valencia
Valencia rejects new Villa bid

Missing the Barça train

Filipe:
You've also missed the Barça train?

Villa:
I'm an expert in missing trains.

(click the cartoon to enlarge)

source:
cayecaturas.com
sport.es

see more cartoons here

Villa decides to stay at Valencia

Despite the statements of Barcelona president Joan Laporta yesterday saying at a press conference that Valencia striker and Spanish international David Villa (27) is still an option, Valencia regional sports paper Superdeporte claims that Villa has decided to stay at Valencia.

Villa would yesterday have informed Valencia president Manuel Llorente by phone about his decision not to leave Valencia this summer.

The club and the player would now have agreed that they will give a joint press conference next week to explain the events of the coming weeks. Valencia will reportedly say that they had been putting the player on the market and that Villa never pressured the club to let him go to Madrid or Barcelona.

Read more:
Villa could help fund transfer?
Valencia rejects new Villa bid
WT* is happening with Villa???

picture: made by hieifcb

Valencia rejects new Villa bid

Madrid sports tabloid As claims that Valencia has yesterday again rejected a bid for Valencia striker and Spanish international David Villa (27).

Barcelona president Joan Laporta reportedly called Valencia president Manuel Llorente to make a bid of 42 million euro°, that was rejected.

Llorente confirmed the news in an interview with the tabloid: "Laporta called me and I repeated that we're not willing to sell the player."

At 22:20 pm last night, the player's agent José Luis Tamargo would then also have contacted Llorente by phone to inform him that Barcelona was preparing a new, higher offer for the Spanish striker. This new bid wouldn't so far have been received by Valencia.

Read more:
Villa could help fund transfer?
Poor Villa!
WT* is happening with Villa???

Villa could help fund transfer?

Catalan sports paper Sport claims Valencia striker and Spanish international David Villa (27) could now be willing to go one step further in facilitating his transfer to Barcelona.

Valencia president Manuel Llorente would be holding out for at least €50 million for Villa's transfer while Barcelona president Joan Laporta would have decided that €42 million was the maximum offer Barcelona could make. Sport speculates that Villa could be willing to pay the difference of €8 million between the clubs' valuations by lowering his personal financial agreement with Barcelona.

Villa would have to lower his wage agreement with Barcelona from €7.5 million net per season down to €5.5 million net per season, amounting to €8-10 million over 4 or 5 years. Sport believes Villa would be willing to do this because even at €5.5 million net Villa would more than double his current wages at Valencia.

This would have come after Villa unsuccessfully argued for his release during a meeting on Monday with Valencia president Manuel Llorente in Madrid.

Read more:
WT* is happening with Villa???

When will the Villa soap end?

Customer 1

You think that at our age we will live to see how the Villa soap opera ends?

Customer 2:

Every day I have more doubts.

(click the cartoon to enlarge) source: cayecaturas.com see more cartoons here

Poor Villa!

by Pablo López
for Marca



When an employee thinks that his time at a firm has ended, that he has higher objectives and that he cannot fulfil them in his current environment, when he loses his trust in his bosses, when, in short, he's not comfortable at his working place, the firm needs to make it possible for him to leave.

I'm referring, my friends, to David Villa and Valencia, but this reasoning could be used for every football player when some conditions are met:

a) that he has given his best for the team, that he has been an irreproachable professional,
b) that he will leave a considerable amount of money in the coffers of his clubs,
c) that, in effect, it's a valued player and that there are big offers for him,
d) and that, like I said, he wants to take on a new professional challenge.

It's obvious that David Villa meets all of them. But there's even more. If we put ourselves in his place, we would end up having the irrefutable feeling that, while being one of the best strikers in the world whom almost every club would want to have in their team, he could again spend one more season at a team that doesn't seem to have a clear course.

This will hurt the valencianistas but their team is adrift. And I'm not only talking about the giant debts but also about the strong feeling of improvisation, lack of leadership, deceit, lies, of "no problem, we'll solve that tomorrow". Honestly, it's no surprise that David Villa is like crazy about wanting to leave.

It's true that he signed last year a contract renewal including the corresponding economic upgrade, but that doesn't mean a lot when you're on the brink of ruin. It doesn't matter if he goes to Madrid or Barça or Milan or United, but Spain's number 7 will do the impossible to go to another place.

Taking into account that he has said several times that he doesn't want to leave Spain and that Madrid has already signed Benzema instead of him, the only real option that Villa has on the table is Barça. By god, I hope it's a tempting one.

Villa cannot offer more to Valencia. He has already given them prestige and goals. Now it's the club's turn to give him the opportuity to leave. 40 millions is a reasonable price for someone who wants to leave. Valencia has the chance to show they're a gentlemen's club. Villa deserves it...

WT* is happening with Villa???

What about Valencia?
Valencia has been a problematic club for a while but now it seems to run totally out of hand.

Last month, Soriano was as president replaced by Llorente. Now Soriano claims that a group of investors has a majority of the shares, that he's the spokesperson of that group and that he wants his seat back. Llorente says "show me the papers", Soriano says "I own this place, I don't have to show you anything". There could be a general assembly next month.

Besides that, we have a ghost firm in Uruguay, taped meetings, the Valencian maffia, children's drawings and ladies underwear. Now you can put all this together, because I cannot follow anymore. I'm just giving you the basic elements and you can do something creative with it.

What is Barcelona doing?
Basically, just waiting. And keeping Forlán warm. And looking for houses. And hacking Villa's official website. And trying to sell Eto'o to Manchester City. Although Laporta said today that Villa or Forlán will come even if Eto'o stays because they want to strengthen the centre forward position anyhow. Which should mean that if Eto'o leaves, we will sign both Villa ànd Forlán. And my source tells me that Keirrison is already in Barcelona.

What is Villa doing?
Letting his agent leak to the press that Soriano has promised him, when the latter still was president, that the striker could leave this summer. While Llorente said he can only leave for a "scandalously scandalous" offer. Which was apparently not the 25 million euro plus Negredo that Madrid offered, nor the 40 million euro plus Cáceres on loan plus Bojan on loan that Barcelona offered.

What's next?
Villa and/or his agent would next week meet with Valencia. Valencia at this moment means "Llorente", but could mean "Soriano" next week. Or "some Uruguayan kid". Who would then be bought by Wenger.

Conclusion
Goal.com can't even invent rumours that are a little credible.


Re-live the complete Villa transfer story

Deal with Valencia on transfer Villa

Football site Goal claims that Valencia and Barcelona have found a deal on the transfer of Valencia forward and Spanish international David Villa (27)

A source close to Barcelona reportedly told the website that an agreement has been reached, although no details of the fee or any of the Barcelona players going in the other direction were revealed. The clubs are expected to make an announcement soon.

Read more:
Joint offer for Villa and Mata upcoming
Laporta commenting on the transfer season
Looking for a house for Villa

Laporta commenting on the transfer season

Barcelona president Joan Laporta commented on the transfer events in an interview with Spanish tlevision channel TVE.



Villa
It's a player we're interested in. The technical department has made enquiries to know more about his situation but we don't know if things will get complicated because of everything that is going on at Valencia. We have made a very good bid. I personally made an offer to [Valencia president] Llorente. We're not talking about 60 or 50 millions here, it's closer to 40 millions.

Ribéry
If we can get him at a normal price, we're interested. He was on our target list but Bayern doesn't seem willing to sell him. Although they know we're intersted in case they would think about a transfer. Because of the good relationships between the clubs, they will keep us informed.

Eto'o
The whole situation with Eto'o saddens me because we have a good personal relationship. I've called him a couple of times, but I haven't been able to talk to him, I don't know if he changed his mobile phone or his number or if his entourage has said him something or they don't want us to talk or what is happening.

We've always had a clear and direct relationship. I would like to talk to him in a calm way because I really would want to know his point of view about what has happened. It's true that I've said him last year that I didn't want to see him ever again, there was some anger from my side. But we've made up since then.

At the start he wanted a good contract. We've already offered him a better one and now we've offered him two more years. He has said that he would think about it and we're waiting for his answer. If he doesn't accept the offer, the normal thing would be that he doesn't stay.

Manchester City has shown interest, we've explained them the situation but for now he's a Barcelona player. The thing is that his contract expires next year so we have to find an agreement. We more or less know what his plans are. I would like him to stay, although it's true that the coach in any case wants to strengthen the centre forward position.

Cesc
We're not excluding any options and all the players we were interested in are still on the market.


Read more:
Laporta comments on the transfer market
Picture of the day: Villa and Laporta
Laporta comments again on the transfer market

60 to 80 million transfer budget confirmed

Asked about the summer transfer window, Barcelona marketing vice-president Jaume Ferrer has confirmed in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 that the club could spend between 60 and 80 million euro° without getting into economic problems and commented on some rumoured names:

"If Ribéry is the main target of the technical staff, than we will fight to sign him. I don't know much about it, but if that's what the coaches ask, we'll listen to them.

Villa is a great player too. As far as I know, we don't really know who's in charge at Valencia at the moment. I would refer to Txiki Begiristain, who is dealing with the negotiations, and I have total belief in the events turning out in a good way for the club. In the next few days, or at least in the coming two weeks, the club plans to close some transfer deals."

Read more:
Barcelona could spend between 60 and 80 million
Barcelona can spend 30-35 million this summer

Looking for a house for Villa

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that people are already looking for a house where Valencia forward David Villa could live with his family if he moves to Barcelona.

The chosen location would be the town of Gavà Mar, south of Barcelona, where current Barcelona players Víctor Valdés, Seydou Keita and Eidur Gudjohnsen, as well as Barcelona Atlètic coach Luis Enrique, reside.

In the past, Barcelona players Henrik Larsson, Thiago Motta, Juan Román Riquelme, Michael Reiziger, Patrick Kluivert, Philip Cocu and Frank de Boer have lived in Gavà Mar. The nearby villages of Castelldefels, Sitges and Sant Just Desvern are other places where Barcelona players use to find a home.

Read more:
Eto'o has found a house to live in Manchester
Valencia majority shareholder not closing Villa door
Deal with Forlan

Valencia majority shareholder not closing Villa door

Former Valencia president Vicente Soriano, who wants to return to power after he obtained the majority of the shares of the club last weekend, explained his plans this evening at a press conference.

Regarding the sale of the key players of the club, among which Valencia forward and Spanish international David Villa (27) and Valencia left wing attacker and Spanish international Juan Mata (21), Soriano said that there's no need for any of them to be sold, although he also commented that when a club shows interest or a player wants to leave, the matter will be discussed and a decision will be taken.

Read more:
Joint offer for Villa and Mata upcoming
Picture of the day: Villa and Laporta
The contract of Villa

Joint offer for Villa and Mata upcoming

Spanish television channel La Sexta claims that Barcelona is preparing a joint bid for Valencia forward and Spanish international David Villa (27) and Valencia left wing attacker and Spanish international Juan Mata (21).

The bid would be made in the coming hours and consist of 55 million euro° cash plus the loan of two players: Palmeiras forward Keirrison (20) and Barcelona central defender and Uruguay international Martín Cáceres (22).

Read more:
Meeting with Villa
Agent Mata confirms Barcelona interest
First formal bid for Villa

Picture of the day: Villa and Laporta

Barcelona president Joan Laporta had a friendly chat with Valencia players David Villa and Juan Mata during the Formula One race in Barcelona on 10 May.

Txiki doesn't know it anymore

Ribéry:
I only know that I want to join Madrid.

Villa:
I only know that I want to join Barça.

Txiki:
I only know...
that I don't know anything.

(click the cartoon to enlarge)

source:
cayecaturas.com
sport.es

see more cartoons here

First formal bid for Villa

Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio claims that Barcelona has made late last-night a first formal bid for Valencia forward and Spanish international David Villa (27).

After having reached a principal agreement with the player (read more here), Barcelona would now have offered Valencia a transfer fee of 40 million euro° plus the loan of two players: Palmeiras forward Keirrison (20) and Barcelona central defender and Uruguay international Martín Cáceres (22).

The extremely difficult financial situation of Valencia, that for example still wouldn't have paid the salaries for the month of June, would force Valencia to sell at least one player this summer.

Read more:
Meeting with Villa
Laporta comments again on the transfer market
The contract of Villa

The contract of Villa

Catalan sports paper Sport reveals today what they claim to be the contract that has been agreed upon between Barcelona and Valencia forward and Spanish international David Villa (27).

If an agreement with Valencia can be reached, Villa would sign a five-year deal - until 2014 - worth 7,5 million euro a year.

The Spanish striker could get another possible two million euro in incentives based on four parameters: 60 per cent of the games played, winning the Liga, winning the Champions League and winning the Copa (together with one of the other trophies). The buyout clause of Villa would be 120 million euro°.

Read more:
Meeting with Villa
Hacker of the day: Nemesis1
Barcelona prepares final offer for Villa