There will come a time when Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets won’t be taking the field at the Camp Nou, but Sergio Busquets has made sure that Culés will have their midfield rock for a while longer. Barcelona’s second captain has made 490 appearances for the first team over the last 11 seasons and at that rate he would be just behind Xavi, Iniesta and Messi when his new contract runs out in June 2023. If any other team attempts the impossible task of acquiring his services, it will cost 500 million euros, up from 200 million during his last deal.
For the tenth time in their history, a history that dates back to 1899, FC Barcelona are changing their club badge. The current badge has survived since 2002. Change is always met with resistance and this time is no different as seven total changes are being made to the new crest.
Ernesto Valverde delivers forceful message
Valverde doesn’t have the reputation of a disciplinarian, but dropping four points in two consecutive La Liga matches so early in the campaign did merit a stern conversation. In the same week where the Paul Pogba and José Mourinho confrontation made headlines, it should be noted that the situation with Valverde couldn’t be more different. As manager, it’s his job to unify and push the team forward, and maybe a forceful message is what the team needs at the moment.
There are clearly a few things that need to change after Barcelona’s recent form; issues that were discussed on the latest edition of The Barcelona Podcast:
Leganés not happy with Barcelona reaction
Leganés goalkeeper Iván Cuéllar was not pleased with the lack of respect from Barcelona’s players following their 2-1 defeat. The experienced keeper discussed in his post-match comments that none of Valverde’s men congratulated the smaller club on the victory, their first of the La Liga season.
Barcelona’s sky-high revenue expectations
With the current price tags of modern players, transfers cost large amounts of cash. Barcelona’s revenue is at an all-time high which can be nothing but a positive for a club trying to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain and their wealthy investors.
