Barcelona Unveil Plans to Redevelop Nou Camp Stadium

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu unveiled plans for the redevelopment of the club’s Nou Camp stadium.

The project, designed by a Japanese firm, will increase the ground’s capacity from 99,000 to 105,000 spectators and install a roof.

Redevelopment is set to begin in 2017 and finish in 2021, with the bulk of the work taking place in the off season to avoiding affecting Barcelona’s home games.

‘A club like ours needs the best stadium, we all win with the new Nou Camp,’ Bartomeu said.

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez said he felt ‘privileged’ after scoring four goals against Deportivo La Coruna to move ahead of Brazilian Ronaldo’s tally of 48 goals in a season for the club.

 

The Uruguayan, who moved on to 49 goals in 48 games in the campaign, inspired Barca to an 8-0 rout of Deportivo, ending a run of four games without a league win and reigniting their bid to retain the La Liga title.

Barcelona Unveil Plans to Redevelop Nou Camp Stadium

Neymar"s Barcelona Contract Leaked

Neymar’s Barcelona contract has been revealed by notorious website Football Leaks, including a host of performance-related bonuses and an eye-watering buy-out clause.

 

Any club wishing to purchase the Brazilian can pay €190million to buy him out of his current contract at the Nou Camp, which expires in June 2018.

His move from Santos in the summer of 2013 also saw Neymar pocket a €8.5million signing-on fee.

Neymar Jr. in action for FC Barcelona

The document reveals no pre-contract agreement existed between the parties.

Despite what might appear to be a relatively modest gross pay of €5million per year compared to some other contracts that have come to the fore, Neymar makes up for it in performance-related bonuses.

The document shows he earns an extra €1,062,000 for featuring in 60 per cent of matches, in which he must be play at least 45 minutes.

He will also earn an additional €100,000 per season for being included in the requisite number of playing squads, regardless of whether he emerges from the bench.

Neymar wheels away celebrating scoring a goal for Barcelona

If the 24-year-old wins the Ballon d’Or during his time at Barca he will land an extra €425,000, while he will pockets €637,000 for a La Liga title win and €850,000 if the Catalans win the Champions League.

Bonuses also exist for combinations of major trophies, with last season’s treble earning Neymar €1,700,000.

Qualification for the Champions League alone pockets him €637,000, while reaching the knockout stages earns him an additional €425,000.

Neymar"s Barcelona Contract Leaked

Photos: Barcelona Arrive For Arsenal Champs League Encounter

FC Barcelona has landed safely London. The team met early Monday morning at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper before heading to Barcelona-El Prat Airport, where they caught their 10.50am flight to Luton Airport outside the English capital. The flight landed at London Luton at 12:45pm.

 

Upon their arrival, the club will bus to their hotel until this afternoon’s training session at the Emirates Stadium, their final workout before the game against Arsenal. Tuesday’s first leg of the Champions League last 16 is set to kick off at 07.45pm.

 

Before the workout, FC Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique and midfielder Ivan Rakitic will appear before the media

FC Barcelona Spanish head coach, Luis Enrique all joy for Arsenal clash

Photos: Barcelona Arrive For Arsenal Champs League Encounter

Barcelona players – (L-R): Claudio Bravo, Adriano and Dani Alves

FC Barcelona one branch of the famous MSN, Neymar walks to board the plane enroute to London

The deadly duo of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez

FC Barcelona Brazilian forward, Neymar Jr

FC Barcelona second choice goal keeper, Ter Stergen

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Photos: Barcelona Arrive For Arsenal Champs League Encounter

Lionel Messi A "New" Award For The First Time

Barcelona superstar, Lionel Messi for the first time he has won the award as Spain’s La Liga player of the month for January.

 

The award has been in existence since the beginning of the 2013-14 primera division season, but the five-time FIFA Ballon d’Or winner had not won it until now. Barcelona’s star man finally won the award at the 23rd time of asking after scoring six goals in as many league games in January.

 

La Liga explained on its official website how Messi ‘further demonstrated his quality’ via ‘his great form in the first month of the year’.

They added that ‘this accolade, which is awarded by the competition’s main sponsor, and voted for by writers, recognises Messi’s outstanding displays and his goal-scoring prowess, which make him one of the most feared strikers in the division’.

 

The 28-year-old scored a hat-trick against Granada as well as scoring in victories over Athletic Bilbao, Malaga and Atletico Madrid to take his total of league goals for the season to 12.

Lionel Messi A "New" Award For The First Time

Who Wears The Crown?: Ronaldo, Messi And Neywmar Head To Zurich Head For Award Gala

See Photos Of Messi, Ronaldo And Neymar Head For Ballon D’or Event

The king of world football will be crowned later today and among the shortlist of FC Barcelona/Argentina Lionel Messi, Real Madrid/Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo and FC Barcelona/Brazil Neymar Junior, it is the Argentine who stands out to be crowned for a record fifth time as world best footballer.

 

footballcrusader.com shares images of the three finalists arrival in the Swiss capital and headquarters of FIFA.

Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt will host this year’s Ballon d’Or award ceremony

Neymar Jr (far right) with his entourage en route to Zurich

Lionel Messi on board flight to Zurich with his partner

Skysports presneter, Kate Abdo will co-host for the second time

Cristiano Ronaldo touches down

Ronaldo poses along with his team

 

Who Wears The Crown?: Ronaldo, Messi And Neywmar Head To Zurich Head For Award Gala

Verdict: Manchester City Win Guardiola Race

Pep Guardiola Will Be Coach In Manchester; Yes, It Is Official!

 

Manchester City have won the race to secure the both the signature and services of in-demand coach, Josep Guardiola Sala.

 

The former Barcelona coach has already spoke of his intentions to coach in the English premier and many clubs notably Manchester clubs United and City along with London based Chelsea have been battling for the most sort after manger.

 

 

In a poll organised by sportscrusader.com on twitter, the Citizens were voted to be the club to secure the services of the current coach of FC Bayern Munchen and treble winner with Barcelona, Pep Guardiola.

A number of Football fans and followers of the sportscrusader.com twitter account took to the social media page to vote in the poll for the club in their opinion will win the race for Pep.

 

Manchester City pulled 44% of the total vote to record the majority of votes casted and neighbours and bitter rivals United had 36% with chelsea recording just 9% even lower than what other teams (unlikely destinations) had – 10%.

 

How the fans voted on Pep’s likely club in England

Verdict: Manchester City Win Guardiola Race

Gem: Finally A Replacement For Lionel Messi?

Messi’s Heir Finally Discovered?

Many have been named and likened to the Barcelona player, Lionel Messi. None has lived up to the tag and this makes it difficult to believe this brilliant kid will finally be the one to carry the torch.

10 year-old Kriko Grabovskis

Latvian wonderkid, Kriko Grabovskis has shown some brilliant and mind blowing displays that has taken social media by storm and many asking if he’s Latvian Messi?

Watch videos of both Grabovskis and Messi at the age of 10 and answer the question is: how does he (Kriko Grabovskis) compares to the world’s most skilful player(Lionel Messi) at a similar age?

 

 

Gem: Finally A Replacement For Lionel Messi?

Number 1: Luis Enrique Is The Best Coach In The World

IFFHS Names Enrique As Best Manager In The World

FC Barcelona treble winning manager and club legend, Luis Enrique has been named as the best coach in the world.

 

Luis Enrique was been named as the World’s Best Club Coach for 2015 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

The Barcelona boss had up 165 points in the IFFHS voting, virtually double the total of his closest challenger and former playing colleague, Pep Guardiola (86), to take over the crown that Carlo Ancelotti won last time out on the back of leading Real Madrid to ‘La Décima’.

Luis Enrique lift the UEFA champions league trophy in 2014

Luis Enrique with this recognition has become the third Barça manager to claim the prize, following in the footsteps of Guardiola (2009 and 2011) and Frank Rijkaard before him (2006).

Number 1: Luis Enrique Is The Best Coach In The World

Jury: Lionel Messi Vs Cristiano Ronaldo 2015 Stats In Review

Messi, Ronaldo; Who Ended The Year 2015 On Top Of  The Ladder

 

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two best footballers of their generation if not ever. This statement many will disagree but the pair are a breath of fresh air to watch on the field of play. Like all mortals, they are fallible, as is the case when they represent their respective Argentina and Portugal. But in the coulours of the Blaugrana (Barcelona) and Los Merengues (Real Madrid), they are ‘immortals’ and their performances.

 

In this review, footballcrusader.com will focus on la liga, champions league and Other Cups (Copa Del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup) appearances excluding international or national appearances  .

Lionel Messi ended the 2014/15 season with FC Barcelona as a treble winner – La liga, UEFA champions league and Copa del rey. The Argentine made a total of 57 – appearances in all competitions. His competitor, if not ‘enemy’, Cristiano Ronaldo, went the 2014/15 season  trophy less with a combined club appearances of 54.

Ronaldo celebrates scoring for Real madrid

In the 2014/15 la liga season, Cristiano Ronaldo made 35 – appearances and scored 48 – goals making him the winner of the ‘pichichi’ – spanish goal king crown. He ended the season with 16 assists, something many question his desire towards and as a result has been tagged by many as a ‘selfish’ player more than a team player.

Lionel Messi, four times Fifa world player of the year winner made 38 – la liga appearances – three more than his immediate competitor and scored 43-goals – 5 fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo and had a credit assist of 18.

Reigning Fifa world player of the year, Ronaldo, made 12-appearances in the 2014/15 UEFA champions league and scored 10-goals and made 2-assists. This was not enough to help the Madrid based team retain the Europe crown they won for a record 10 – times. Lionel Messi, had a much successful UEFA champions league after his 10 – goals and 5-assists in 13 – appearances helped Barca win the champions league crown.

Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi

In other cup competitions (Copa Del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup) the duo made a total of 13 – appearances, Six for Messi and 7 appearances for Ronaldo. The former scored 5 – goals to the latter’s 3 – goals and made 4 – assists and 2 – assists respectively.

From August, 2015 to December 31, these two football geniuses have been at it again battling one another ‘knowingly or unknowingly’ with impressive and record-breaking performances.

 

Still early days into the 2015/16 season, Messi has 6 – goals in 11 la liga appearances. The Argentine has been out injured for 8 weeks. so one then may jump to his defence for the low number of goals scored. On the Madrid side, Ronaldo seems to be keeping Rafa Benitez at post with an impressive 14 – goals in 17 – la liga appearances and on par with Messi on 4 – assists made.

In the just ended UEFA champions league group stages round of matches, Messi made 3 – appearances and has scored 3- goals and 1- assist to his name. Ronaldo, 30, played in all six group stage matches and is leading the goal king chart with 11 – goals and 3 – assists.

 

Messi, 29, has been involved in the Spanish Super Cup final, which Barcelona lost to Atletico Bilbao on aggregate after losing the first leg by 4 – goals to nil and has also played in the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.

The Argentine number 10 has made a total of 4 – appearances in other cup competitions and scored 4 – goals.

 

We end the year 2015 and leave you our cherished readers to answer who among the two is the king of world football?

Jury: Lionel Messi Vs Cristiano Ronaldo 2015 Stats In Review

Transfer: Luis Enrique Confirm New Signings For Barcelona In January

We Will Add Quality To The Squad – Luis Enrique

 

Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique confirmed yesterday the club will look to strengthen his squad in the January winter transfer when the Catalonia club’s ban is lifted.

 

Barca were barred from registering new players for two consecutive transfer windows in 2015 after breaking Fifa rules on the signing of foreign players under the age of 16. The Spanish coach spoke to the press yesterday as hs team prepares for a return to la liga action.

Turkish midfielder, Arda Turan signed for Barcelona from Atletico madrid in the summer of 2015

“You always have to take into account the possibility of improving the squad,” Enrique told a news conference ahead of Barca’s game against Sevilla on Wednesday in La Liga.

He added, “Anything is possible. If there are arrivals, it’s possible that there will be departures. Any players leaving will depend on us being able to reinforce the team, it’s not as if we have a very big squad. Everything is under consideration, there is still much to be done, the transfer window isn’t open yet and we have to wait. The month (January) will be long, most certainly.”

Spanish midfielder cum defender, Aleix Viidal signed for Barcelona from Sevilla in the summer of 2015

Barcelona will for the first time wear the official FIFA world club champions badge on their kit when they face Real Betis at 1930 GMT in the la liga on Wednesday, 30, 2015.

Transfer: Luis Enrique Confirm New Signings For Barcelona In January

Omen: Pep"s Move To City, Good Or Bad For Yaya

Pep Is Coming, Will Toure Leave?

Pep Guardiola’s link to Manchester city is gathering much momentum with 5 months left on his contract with Bayern München.

 

Officially he (Pep) and club, Bayern have confirmed he will not renew but what still remains gloomy is his next destination. Though reports have linked the Spaniard to Manchester United and Chelsea,  it’s Manchester city that remain firm favourite to secure his services.

Yaya Toure playing in the sky blue colours of Manchester city

The question now many are asking is will Pep’s move to the Etihad stadium push Yaya Toure out? The pair didn’t move on a level ground when they were with Barcelona and it’s this that has prompted many to ask what the future hold for Toure.

Flashback: Yaya Toure playing for Barcelona in an el clasico game against Real Madrid

Reports in Italy claim,  there has been conversation between Toure and his former boss and Manger of Inter Milan, Roberto Mancini. The 33 – year old Ivorian was linked with a move to the San Siro in the summer but looks like with the arrival of Guardiola the move might happen this time around.

 

Omen: Pep"s Move To City, Good Or Bad For Yaya

Messi Wins Best Player Award

And The Winner Is, Liomel Messi!

 

Argentina and Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi has been crowned world football’s best player at the Global Soccer award event held in Dubai.

 

The Argentina forward, who has been  battling injury this season, scored 58 goals as Barca enjoyed a memorable treble-winning campaign last season.

Lionel Messi receiving his best player award

FC Barcelona was crowned the best football club after a treble winning season –  la liga champions, uefa champions league winners and Copa del Rey kings.

Andre Pirlo receiving his career award

Frank’s Lampard receives career award

Andre Pirlo and Frank Lampard’s dedication and devotion to the  beautiful game went unnoticed with the pair awarded career achievement accolades.

 

The four times Fifa ballon d’or winner said,  ”It’s very nice to receive these awards, but I always say that the team makes it possible. It’s been an extraordinary year.”

 

GLOBE SOCCER AWARDS IN DUBAI WINNERS 2015

Best Player of the Year 2015

Lionel Messi

Best Club 2015

Barcelona

Best President 2015

Josep Maria Bartomeu

Best Media Attraction in Football

Barcelona

Player Career Award

Frank Lampard

Player Career Award

Andrea Pirlo

Best Agent 2015

Jorge Mendes

Best Coach 2015

Marc Wilmots

Best Academy 2015

Benfica

Best GCC Player 2015

Yasir Al-Shahrani

Best Referee 2015

Ravshan Irmatov

 

Messi Wins Best Player Award

Fergie Influence: Guardiola Chooses United Over City

Pep Guardiola Reveals His Next Team

 

Former Barcelona coach is perhaps the hottest and most sorted after coach and his pronunciation that he will leave Bayern München at the end of the 2015/16 season has caused a huge scramble for his signature.

 

The Spaniard has been linked to many premier league clubs with Manchester city as the firm favourite to secure his services. In recent times Chelsea, who recently parted ways with fans favourite Jose Mourinho have been rumoured to require his services. The reported figure of 20 million pounds purported to be what Roman Abramovich is offering is anything to go by that will Pep the highest paid coach in the whole world.

 

Pep is rumored to have revealed his next managerial destination is England to a group of friends during a time out.

The source said: “Pep always found the club (Manchester United fascinating. He likes clubs with huge tradition and United certainly have this.

“He won’t be short of options when it comes to deciding his next move and Manchester City are an ambitious club. But United could still prove to be the more attractive proposition.”

 

Now this news will interest the Glazers who are the owners of Manchester United to act swiftly in making a decision than wait for struggling Louis Van Gaal to find his feet after almost 18 months in the English premier league.

Fergie Influence: Guardiola Chooses United Over City