BAYERN MUNICH SIGNS FC BARCELONA THIAGO FOR 25M€

FC Barcelona & German Club Bayern Munich have made official the transfer & signing of Spanish International midfielder & "Spanish Football Pearl" Thiago Alcantara. The communication was made at 20.00 & the transfer figure negotiated is 25M€. This way Bayern Munich earns some money from the VAT % that is equivalent to the contract release clause of 18M€, & Barça gets some more cash after some criticism at the "bargain basement price" of the 22 year old Thiago.

But there is more, both Clubs have agreed to put together a Friendly Match where I imagine the box-office & TV rights will also be part of the shut deal.

The player signs for 4 years & will thus be able to find more playing time as to continue with his progression & evolution towards the "World Class" player much observers expect will occur. The objective of Thiago Alcantara this season is to play sufficient matches & with good form so as to be able to convince Spanish National Football Team Selector Vicente Del Bosque for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

The player was close to Manchester United but the personal intervention & solicitation of ex-FC Barcelona Coach Josep Guardiola, now at Bayern Munich, has been the determinate factor in the move & transfer.

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BAYERN MUNICH GUARDIOLA CONVINCES FC BARCELONA THIAGO ALCANTARA

The voted MVP of the last UEFA U-21 European Championships, FC Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara, has a "bargain basement" contract release clause of "only" 18M€. That figure climbs back up to 90M€ on the 1st of August, thus the big European Clubs are talking with the player in an attempt to convince him to sign with them.

Everything was pointing towards English Premier League Club Manchester United. In fact , Football observers had commented that there was a "verbal agreement" & that the inner circle of the player had made comments that it was a done deal.

However, a new & influential actor has come into the scene. The ex-Coach of Thiago at FC Barcelona Josep Guardiola, has announced that he has expressed to his Club, Bayern Munich, to move to sign the talented midfielder. A mini-bombshell that has changed the plans of Thiago & has brought some "bad vibes" over to Camp Barça. In fact, Guardiola was more explicit in today's press conference saying that Thiago is a "super player" & that he would be his only signing request.

Spanish radio last night already gave glimpses of this news, with information that Guardiola had called Thiago & had convinced the player. The offer would be 4M€ per season & Thiago voiced his concern about the current midfielders at Bayern & if he could find a place. Guardiola is said to have commented that Javi Martinez will had a defensive ( central defender ) role & thus open up a midfield space for him.

Thus , at this moment, things look like Thaigo will head off to Bayern Munich. Stay tuned!

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFERS | CLUBS TUG - OF WAR - TO SIGN ISCO & THIAGO

News out of England keeps confirming what has been published here in recent weeks, that the race is on to secure & sign two  Spanish Football promises & pearls. The English newspaper "Daily Mirror" publish that U-21 Spanish International ISCO & the U-21 Spanish Team Captain THIAGO are closer than ever to English Football.

There is a tug-of -war between Real Madrid & Manchester City over the services of Isco. Real Madrid wishes to shut the negotiations asap which has prompted an offensive from Manchester City to attempt to secure the player within the next 48 hours. The advantage that the English Club has is that ex-Malaga Coach Pellegrini - now Coach of Man City - is considered the "Football Father" of Isco & has promised the player playing time, something that Real Madrid cannot with players already there like Ozil , Modric & Kaka.

Nothing is certain as yet as news locally is confusing & contradictory with some influential media observers saying Isco is close to Real Madrid, while others say Manchester City is in front running. 

The other "Spanish Football Pearl" is Thiago Alcantara who also wishes to play more because his objective is to reach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with Spain. His current Club FC Barcelona cannot guarantee playing time with Busquets, Cesc Fabregas, Xavi & Iniesta all ahead of the player for the midfield positions.  The player is in contact with Manchester United & today from England it is reported that Manchester United has an agreement with Thiago with an offered salary of 6M€ / season. All that has to be done now is that the player accept the offer & that Manchester United pay the 18M€ contract release clause.

Stay tuned as it promises to be exciting with theses two young Football players over the coming days.

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FC BARCELONA THIAGO | MANCHESTER UNITED OR BAYERN MUNICH ?

The UEFA U-21 European Championships was an authentic showcase of talent. In the Spanish Football , case which won the title yesterday 2 - 4 in the Final against Italy, the mayor European Clubs are now in the market offering succulent offers for the youngsters.

Malaga FC player Isco, who was voted MVP of the tournament, is experiencing a tug-of-war between Real Madrid & Manchester City. Real Sociedad Illarmendi has an offer from English Premier League Club Arsenal FC, while Real Madrid forward Morata is very much liked by Italian Club Napoles.

But the true "pearl" on offer is FC Barcelona & Spanish U-21 International midfielder THIAGO Alcantara who scored a Hat-trick in the final & was outstanding all tournament. The youngster is available until the 31st of July for 18M€, a true bargain price, which is his contract release clause after not reaching the playing time quota agreed in his contract with FC Barcelona this season. The 22 year old player has Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta & Xavi Hernandez ahead of him for the midfield position.

The player wants playing time to be able to keeping evolving & growing as a Football Player & it is speculated that the player ( along with his representative the brother of Pep Guardiola & his father ex-Brazilian World Cup Champ Mazinho ) have decided to make a move next season to "new lands".

At this moment there are two Clubs very interested in Thiago, English giant Manchester United & German Champion Bayern Munich which will be Coached next season by Pep Guardiola ex-mentor of Thiago at FC Barcelona. Real Madrid is also speculated but seems not willing to enter into hostilities with Barça apart from their own "midfield" overload of players in their squad.

FC Barcelona will attempt to convince the player to stay, because apart from retaining a class promise & move with a 18M€ price tag would be seen as scandalous by Barça fans. However, Football observers close to the players "inner circle" comment that the player has decided to move & may have already an agreement - handshake - with Manchester United. The only unknown is if ex Coach Pep Guardiola can convince Thiago to move to Bayern Munich.

Stay tuned.

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FC BARCELONA YOUNG STAR THIAGO POINTING TO MANCHESTER UNITED

There is authentic panic in the offices of FC Barcelona, at least a Directive is sweating it out as he contemplates a possible "kick in the ass" out of the office window. The contract release clause of Spanish U-21 International midfielder & FC Barcelona talent Thiago Alcantara has dropped from 90M€ to 18M€. Why? Because he didn't play the agreed number of games with the "senior" team this season, & because someone forgot to tell the technical staff what was that number.

Thiago perhaps pointing to "Old Trafford"

With this situation Thiago has become a "bargain" for the Top European Clubs. Real Madrid is speculated to be circling the "prey" along with Bayern Munich, but it seems English Premier League giant Manchester United is in the forefront & leading the race.

Rumours have it that player - via his father ex-Brazilian International Mazinho - has already spoken informally to Manchester United about the possibilities & his son sees with very good eyes a move. Thiago wants to play & play more in order to continue progressing with his enormous talent. FC Barcelona cannot guarantee a regular spot or play as they are full of midfield "stars" like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets & Cesc. Manchester United on the other hand want to incorporate the young Spanish International into their midfield scheme next season & even go as far - rumoured - in thinking about Club team-mate Cesc Fabregas to join Thiago in the midfield.

English paper  "Daily Mirror" publish that Manchester United is following the player in Israel where the UEFA U-21 European Championships are being held & are absolutely impressed. So much so, that the English Club is reported to be preparing the "contract release clause" figure of 18M€ to sign him for next season.

If this is so, FC Barcelona may be kicking themselves for a decade to come if Thiago turns out to be the World class player everyone believes he will be, & all for a "slip of the mind" & a tasty 18M€. Stay tuned!

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MANCHESTER UNITED RETURNS TO TEMPT FC BARCELONA THIAGO ?

FC Barcelona young midfielder Thiago Alcantara needs more playing time. This is the general agreement within the players inner circle if the talented Spanish International is going to make himself a space within the Spanish National Football Team for the 2014 World Cup competition in Brazil.

This is Thiago´s grand ambition to play for Spain in Brazil next year where he shares "nationality" with his father Mazinho World Champion midfielder with Brazil. The proud father has gone on record these days saying publicly that his son would be playing regularly in another Club in the World. This is a fact, the only difficulty is that Thiago belongs to FC Barcelona were his direct competitors are Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets & Cesc Fabregas, four of the best in the World in their position.

This has set off a sort of alarm bell which radiates from England where it is rumoured that Manchester United may offer the Barça youngster the regular playing time that he calls for & needs. Its not the first time that Manchester United "talks" with Thiago, apparently there has been past attempts & even an offer of 18M€ which was refused. 

Stay tuned on this front as the "frustration" of not playing & the impatience of the youngster may force him to look elsewhere away from "Camp Barça" for his playing time.

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30 MOST VALUABLE YOUTH PLYERS WORLD 2012

Portugues Football Finance web "Futebolfinance" has an interesting post which lists the Top 30 Valuable Youth Players in World Football for 2012. Brazilian Neymar heads the list , but there are 4 Spanish Football players in the Top 30 : Thiago Alcantara, David De Gea, Iker Muniain & Bojan Krkic. Check out the full list below.

Thiago

The 30 most Valuable Players Youth World 2012


# Player Nationality Age Club Minimum Value


1 Neymar Brazil 20 Santos € 30 million € 55 million
2 Mario Götze Germany 19 Borussia Dortmund € 30 million € 45 million
3 Mario Balotelli Italy 21 Manchester City € 30 million € 40 million
4 Eden Hazard Belgium 21 Lille € 27 million € 35 million
5 Jack Wilshere England 20 Armory € 22 million € 30 million
6 Thiago Alcantara Spain 20 Barcelona € 20 million € 30 million
7 Yann M'Vila France 21 Rennes € 20 million € 25 million
8 Phil Jones England 20 Manchester United € 18 million € 25 million
9 David de Gea Spain 21 Manchester United € 16 million € 20 million
10 Alan Dzagoev Russia 21 CSKA Moscow € 16 million € 20 million
11 Jack Rodwell England 20 Everton € 16 million € 20 million
12 Iker Munain Spain 20 Athletic Bilbao € 15 million € 22 million
13 Romelu Lukaku Belgium 18 Chelsea € 15 million € 20 million
14 Jordan Henderson England 21 Liverpool € 15 million € 18 million
15 Andrew Schürrle Germany 21 Bayer Leverkusen € 14 million € 18 million
16 Bojan Krkic Spain 21 Rome € 13.5 million € 18 million
17 James Rodriguez Colombia 20 FC Porto € 13 million € 20 million
18 Erik Lamela Argentina 19 Rome € 13 million € 20 million
19 Christian Eriksen Denmark 20 Ajax € 13 million € 20 million
20 Danny Welbeck England 21 Manchester United € 13 million € 18 million
21 Kyle Walker England 21 Tottenham € 13 million € 18 million
22 Xherdan Shaqiri Switzerland 20 Basel € 12.5 million € 18 million
23 Douglas Costa Brazil 21 Shakhtar Donestk € 12 million € 16 million
24 Szczesny Poland 21 Armory € 12 million € 15 million
25 Aaron Ramsey Wales 21 Armory € 11 million € 16 million
26 Miralem Pjanic Bosnia 21 Rome € 10.5 million € 16 million
27 Danilo Brazil 20 FC Porto € 10 million € 18 million
28 Oxlade-Chamberlain England 18 Armory € 10 million € 20 million
29 Gastón Ramírez Uruguay 21 Bologna € 10 million € 15 million
30 Lucas Brazil 19 São Paulo € 10 million € 17 million Tweet

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FC BARCELONA PLAYER THIAGO ALCANTARA SECOND PLACE IN 2011 "GOLDEN BOY AWARD"

Congratulations to Borussia Dortmund youngster MARIO GOETZE who was awarded by the Italian newspaper "Tuttosport" this years "GOLDEN BOY AWARD", or the "Best Under - 21 European Footballer".

The news has taken some back here in Spain, & perhaps in Barcelona,  as the "hot favourite" was FC BARCELONA & Spanish Football International midfielder THIAGO ALCANTRA. The Barça player finished 2º in the voting ahead of Belgium (French Club Lille player) youngster Eden Hazard who finished in  3º place. More than 30 Sports journalists around Europe were in charge of placing their votes to acclaim the overall winner.

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SPAIN 6 - LIECHTENSTEIN 0 | SPAIN GRABS ITS GROUP TICKET FOR EURO 2012

The SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM assured their qualification & presence in the upcoming EURO Championships next year with a 6 - 0 victory over LIECHTENSTEIN in their Group qualifying game. The current FIFA World Championship, Spain, have 18 points from their six from six Group victories.

Alvaro Negredo

The match was a one way affair & Spain could have scored more goals, thus not much really to add except that the goal scorers tonight were NEGREDO with two ( 32nd & 37th ), XAVI HERNANDEZ with a superb free-kick in the 43rd min, SERGIO RAMOS in the 52nd & DAVID VILLA with two ( 60th & 79th min) 

David Villa

However, their were highlights & important moments. FC Barcelona player & International midfielder XAVI HERNANDEZ notched up his 103 rd International Cap to make him Spain´s third most capped player behind Iker Casillas ( 124 ) & Andoni Zubizarreta ( 126 ) . The other moment came in the 55th min when Sergio Ramos was substituted for Barça youngster THIAGO. This eliminates any possibility of the player ever playing for Brazil as he has decided to "pledge Football allegiance" to Spain.

Great night of Spanish Football with lots of goals & milestones. The people of Logroño ( La Rioja ; Spain) packed out the stadium & went home happy as did the rest of the country.


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SPANISH FOOTBALL - THIAGO ALCANTARA | THE AWAITED BAPTISM

A marked day for SPANISH FOOTBALL & for FC Barcelona young sensation THIAGO Alcantara. Tonight the Spanish National Football Team plays an official Group qualifying match against LIECHTENSTEIN & a win basically assures the current European Champions a place in next years edition. 

Spanish Football player Thiago

But its also a big day for THIAGO. If the youngster manages to start in tonight's official International match,  or gets a run,  he would have sworn allegiance (  Football wise ) to the RED. As it is known the Brazilian Football Federation is also interested in having the young player start in an official match with them. But Thiago has his mind ( & heart ) set on playing for Spain.

Therefore two reasons to tune into tonight's Euro qualifier:
1. To watch Spain play & see if they can manage the victory
2. See if young Thiago gets a start or run.


In both cases SPANISH FOOTBALL wins.

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SPAIN LIST FOR FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AGAINST ITALY | THIAGO CALLED UP

SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque has handed in his list of Spanish Football players that will make up the National squad to meet ITALY the 10th of August in the Italian city of Bari in an International Friendly match.

Spanish Football player Thiago

The novelty is the inclusion of FC Barcelona young midfielder & U-21 International , THIAGO ALCANTERA who is having a "dream" pre-season after winning the Euro U-21 Championship & is scoring goals with Barça in their warm up pre-season games. The Spanish Football Coach Del Bosque said that his call up is a prize for his excellent performances & his "state of grace" form.


This obviously has another message as Thiago has "pushed aside"  Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas & again raises questions if Barça really needs Cesc in their team, & if Cesc is making a "good" career decision wanting to move to FC Barcelona.

Transfers questions aside, here is the full list of Spanish Football players called up for the Italy Friendly International: 

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Reina (Liverpool/ING) & Víctor Valdés (Barcelona).
Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Álvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) & Andoni Iraola (Athletic).
Midfielders: Thiago (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santiago Cazorla (Málaga), Xavi Hernández (Barcelona), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martínez (Ath. Bilbao).
Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City), Fernando Llorente (Ath. Bilbao), Juan Mata (Valencia), Pedro Rodríguez (Barcelona), David Villa (Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Chelsea FC) & Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla)


LATEST: Malaga FC defender Monreal replaces the injured Sergio Ramos Tweet

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FC BARCELONA SEALS YOUNG MIDFIELDER THIAGO UNTIL 2015

SPANISH FOOTBALL & 20 year old FC BARCELONA young midfield sensation THIAGO ALCANTARA for come to an agreement with his Club to extend his contract until 2015 & raise his contract release clause to a whooping 90M€. This way Barça keeps at bay the wolves that have been circling their "young puppy" this last week. Lets remember that Manchester United supposedly offered around 17M€ for the young player, that Chelsea FC was asking for price & worst of all for Barça, the shadow of Real Madrid was in view.

Thiago

This piece of "afternoon" breaking news leads one to think, what about Cesc Fabregas? Below is a post Spanish Football Sports uploaded this morning that questioned if a move to Barça by Fabregas was in his best interest. Observing the news regarding Thiago, makes me wonder if Cesc will be a "regular" player at FC Barcelona.

Congratulations to Thiago.

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FC BARCELONA | MANCHESTER UNITED MAKE A 17M€ OFFER FOR THIAGO ?

THIAGO, 20 year old FC Barcelona player & Spanish U - 21 Football Team player, is hot property at this moment. His performance in the just finished UEFA U-21 European Championships with Spain has catapulated Thiago to the frontline, along with his MVP award in the Final against Switzerland & his spectacular goal that helped give Spain the Euro title.

Spanish U-21 player Thiago

News from England, concretely from the "Daily Mirror", states that English Premier League Club MANCHESTER UNITED has supposedly offered FC BARCELONA 17M€ to secure the services of the youngster for next season. In fact there are many "rumoured" European Clubs looking at Thiago,  & thinking about attempting to sign the Barça player: Chelsea Fc, Arsenal, Roma, Atletico de Madrid..., even Real Madrid has been mentioned.

The situation is that Thiago has a contract release clause of 10M€ until the 30th of June, which automatically jumps to 30M€ thereafter, thus Clubs maybe thinking about getting in before the 30th of June.

Added to all this the youngster may consider an offer, seeing that if Barça signs CESC FABREGAS he may see his playing time limited. This may push Thiago to look elsewhere to further develop his Football skills & guarantee steady playing time. In fact, FC Barcelona need to raise cash in order to be able to sign Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal & may look favourably in selling their new young star.  The only doubt I see at this moment is the desire of the player not to leave Spain &, if comments are correct, leave Barça. Said this, anything is possible with a good deal & a good offer. Stay tuned!


For those wondering, Thiago was born in Bari Italy, his father is ex Valencia CF & ex Brazilian International & 1994 World Champion player MAZINHO . He also has a younger brother, Rafinho, playing at FC Barcelona who also has huge talents.

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EURO U - 21 FINAL 2011 | THIAGO GOAL AGAINST SWITZERLAND

In yesterdays U-21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL, Spanish midfielder & FC Barcelona player THIAGO scored an impressive second goal in the 80th min that sealed the match.


Here is the VIDEO of the Thiago goal for Spain in their 0 - 2 victory over Switzerlamd in the final. Thiago was later named "MVP of the Final".


THIAGO 2º GOAL 2011 FINAL U-21 EURO SPAIN 2 SWITZERLAND 0 Tweet

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VIDEO | THIAGO SERGIO CANALES U 21 SPANISH TEAM FREE KICK GOAL AGAINST POLAND

Here is the VIDEO that shows some smart free-kick strategy that won a vital game for the SPANISH U 21 NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM against Poland. Midfielder Thiago finds Sergio Canales who puts in the goal & the winner. Final score 0 -1

Poland u21 - Spain u21 0-1

If you are not able to watch the video it maybe because you have Chrome Navegator Tweet

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