We Love Barcelona

Top Spanish outlet Barcelona have been named as the second best employers in football going by wages they pay to their players.

Despite struggling with form in the recent years, United sit atop the highest paying clubs in the world. According to the survey, the average United first team player earns in the region of £110,000 per week. This ends in £5.77 million in annual payment to a first team Red Devils star.

The current La Liga champions are second on the list. The average first team player earns £5.65 million, while Manchester City pays an average player £5.40 million.

The amount splashed on Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic ensured United leapfrogged to first position compared to their standings on the list last year. In addition, following the fall of the Pound following Brexit, American sports sides rank higher than most elite English clubs. However, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool managed to make the top 60.

Overall, the as it offers players the highest average weekly wage at £48,766. With the increase in revenue from television deals, that figure is expected to climb next year bar any major change. German champions Bayern Munich top the survey results in Germany while Serie A champions Juventus top Italy’s. China is a major force with clubs offering some of the most lucrative deals to players.

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo remains the highest paid football player with his £365,000 weekly wage. Considering all sports, Basketball top with NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers paying out £6.9 million to an average player, then Baseball’s New York Yankees and Basketball’s LA Clippers make the top three ahead of United who are in fourth place.

Yerry Mina is not such a well-known free-agent player in comparison to others that are out there available to be signed but it seems like he has gathered enough attention for Barcelona as it’s believed that they have already pre-signed the 22 years old Colombian who is currently performing for Palmeiras.

Jair Mina said: “Yes, a pre-agreement was signed and there’s the possibility that the kid goes to Barcelona. It’s only a pre-agreement, so there’s still the chance that other teams make an offer, so a move to Barca would depend on circumstances and the desire of the player and if other top European teams are interested.”

Gerard Pique is 29 years old while Javier Mascherano is 32 and it’s believed that Barcelona has initiated scouting young talents that can succeed these veteran defenders and follow their legacy after they decide to hang up their boots.

Another player that has been rumored to be in the radar of Barcelona besides Yerry Mina is Mauricio Lemos. Lemos is a 20 year old centre-back who is performing for Las Palmas and has been making impressive performances with the Spanish club.

Barcelona has actually already launched an offer for him of around €12 million bid but it was rejected but they might launch an upgraded bid for the young Uruguayan defender that has been impressing the head chiefs of Las Palmas so much that the club decided to convert his initial loan deal from Rubin Kazan into a 5 year long permanent contract.

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has rubbished the legacies of former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola built an enviable reputation in world football with his successes at Camp Nou where he recorded unprecedented victory in a four-year period. He supervised the lifting of three La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey cups and the team was crowned Champions in Europe twice. The achievements made him one of the most decorated managers in modern football, and he keeps receiving acclaim for his efforts with the Blaugrana team.

Guardiola resigned from Barca, and after a hiatus took up an offer with German champions – Bayern Munich. He recorded relative success in Germany, though there were stagnations in Europe. He lifted three successive German Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokal cups, and semi final endings in the Champions League.

Ahead of the Manchester Derby, Schmeichel revealed his position on the accomplishments of Guardiola. “What he did with Barcelona was fantastic. He was very lucky he had the players at Barcelona, but he was clever in what he did,” Schmeichel started out, talking to OmniSport correspondents.

“The Premier League is a completely different animal to ay other in the world. It just goes on and on and on, you feel it never stops, even in March you have 12 games to go, you think will this ever stop?”

Schmeichel then took a swipe at Guardiola’s time in Germany, saying: “He was okay at Bayern Munich. I have to say he was okay. For me, personally, he changed a really good entertaining team to become more boring to watch.” Schmeichel added that Guardiola’s priority was to keep possession, while for most managers; it was scoring goals to win games. The Manchester derby is set for Saturday.

Barcelona started their defence of the league title with an extremely comfortable 6-2 win over Real Betis at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona were overall favourites going into the game, but few would have imagined such an impressive score on the opening day. Suarez and Lionel Messi were at their imperious best in the game and they later received praise from manager Luis Enrique for their performances. This was also the 100th win for Enrique as the manager of Barcelona. After having been hugely successful in the last few years, one of the biggest task for Enrique was to maintain the motivation within the squad.

He seems to have achieved exactly this purpose, as the Spaniard felt that Barcelona could not have had more motivation for a win. The victory sets Barcelona on a strong part but they will be interrupted by the international break coming soon. Once the season resumes, the club will go up against the likes of Atletico Madrid, Deportivo Alavés, and Leganés in the month of September. One of the positive aspects for Enrique against Real Betis was the return to form for Lionel Messi. The Argentine superstar scored a brace, but he was overshadowed by Luis Suarez’ coming up with a hat-trick.

Last season’s top goal scorer Suarez is favourite to win the Golden Boot award once again. “The players were very motivated, and very active both in attack and defence. We were brave and very effective. A complete game. Sergi Roberto, down the same flank as always, very attentive in the defensive aspect of his game, and showed good anticipation. In attack, he was very good, looking for space and creating chances. Arda has a lot of quality and can perform in the two positions, both as an inside midfielder and as a forward,” said Enrique.