Tag Archives: La Masia

Premier League Teams Eyeing FC Barcelona Phenom Pau Cubarsí

Posted on by
Reply

It appears that all eyes are on Pau Cubarsí.

The 17-year-old Spanish soccer player, a defender for F.C. Barcelona, is being targeted by several Premier League clubs with his release clause set at around €10 million ($10.7m), per ESPN.

Pau CubarsíCubarsí only signed his first professional contract with Barça last year, but his emergence in the first team has accelerated the need for the club to agree a new deal with the teenager. 

Barça was already negotiating an improvement with the center-back’s camp, but sources explain his performances with the first team have “changed the starting point” when it comes to reaching an understanding over a new long-term agreement.

Sources close to the coaching staff detail the maturity and bravery Cubarsí has demonstrated since being handed his debut as a 16-year-old in the Copa del Rey against Unionistas de Salamanca in January.

Cubarsí has since made six appearances under coach Xavi Hernández, including starts in LaLiga wins against Real Betis, Osasuna and Alavés.

“We were joking about him the other day because at just 17 he already seems like a veteran,” Xavi said after last weekend’s 3-1 win over Alavés.

“He is already playing like a player who is far older than his years. He is aggressive, he does not lose possession and he’s so good at bringing the ball out from the back.”

Those qualities have led to an urgency to renew Cubarsí’s contract as some of England’s biggest clubs circle due to his clause being fixed at a relatively affordable €10m.

Cubarsí joined Barça in 2018 as an 11-year-old after spending four years at Girona. He has since progressed through the Catalan club’s La Masia academy before he made his Barça Atlétic debut earlier this season as he began to train regularly with the first team.

Xavi handed him his first-team debut on Jan. 19. He has made six appearances since, impressing at the heart of the defense alongside Uruguay international Ronald Araújo.

“He’s very well prepared,” Xavi said of Cubarsí after he made his LaLiga debut against Betis in January, just days before his 17th birthday.

“He doesn’t seem 16 when you speak with him. He is a focused and responsible kid. I don’t think he lost a single ball, either.

“He’s going to mark an era, the same as Lamine [Yamal] .We are continuing to build a team with young footballers. These are players who we must build the club’s future with.”

Cubarsí is one of several youngsters to breakthrough under Xavi, with Yamal (16), Hector Fort (17) and Marc Guiu (18) among the others to have made an impact this season.

Fort, who can play across the back four but is primarily a full-back, is close to being signed to Jorge Mendes‘ agency, sources have told ESPN.

Vicky Losada Joins Manchester City on Two-Year Deal

Posted on by
Reply

Vicky Losada is heading to the City…

The 30-year-old Spanish football midfielder and former Barcelona captain has joined Manchester City on a two-year deal, the club has announced.

Vicky Losada

Losada announced in June that she’d leave the Catalan club after 16 years, calling it “the most difficult decision” of her life.

She led Barca to a treble-winning season this year after securing the Primera Iberdrola, the Champions League and the Copa de la Reina.

“It was very hard to me because I’ve been playing for Barca since I was 14 years old. Sometimes you feel like you need a change and close a chapter in my life and when the offer came from England it made things easier for me and also winning the Champions League definitely brought me the security to make the decision,” Losada told ESPN about her decision to move to City.

“I want to be very honest to you, new girls from La Masia came up to the team. They were bringing a very good level and I wanted to get more minutes and it wasn’t happening but I was also so happy at the same time that I was always helping the team.

“I just wanted to be more important and basically happier when I wake up and I have to go to the training ground. So that was changing a little bit so I had my thoughts every night with myself and in the end it was the perfect end to a year that was unforgettable to me.”

Losada came through Barca’s academy system La Masia and spent the majority of her playing career at the club.

However, she did spend a year-and-a-half with Arsenal in the Women’s Super League where she won the league cup and the FA Cup.

She said this time with Arsenal made her eager for a return to the WSL, despite her love for her home side in Spain.

“I said all the time I was missing the English league. All these years, I came back to Barcelona because it was home for me but I am so happy to be coming back to England. It’s true that the weather never got used to that but I think I’ll be able to handle it,” she added.

“I think it is a very competitive league and they have very good players. Every year the best players in the world not just English or British players want to go to the WSL and also I think the structure, I can see it from here. We’re missing a lot of things in the Spanish league — visibility, TV, fans. I really think they’re doing a massive job and they’re looking after women’s football.”

Losada leaves Barca with six league titles, one Champions League title, seven Copa de la Reina titles, one Supercopa Femenina title and eight Copa Catalunya titles.

Barcelona Expresses Interest in Eric Garcia

Posted on by
Reply

There’s growing interest in Eric Garcia… 

Futbol Club Barcelona has enquired about the 19-year-old Spanish footballer’s situation at Manchester City as they line up a potential move to bring the defender back to Camp Nou, according to ESPN.

Eric Garcia

Manchester City was quick to knock back Barca‘s initial approach, with high-ranking executives at the English club making it clear that Garcia isn’t for sale. 

Team manager Pep Guardiola is especially fond of Garcia and, while ManCity hope to sign a new centerback this summer, they also want to keep him involved as part of the first-team squad.

However, there is also an understanding at the club that the uncertainty over Guardiola’s long-term future could become a problem at some point. Players are also in the dark and with two years left on his contract, Garcia is in a strong negotiating position.

This provoked Barca to ask about his availability during recent talks between the two clubs regarding a possible swap deal involving right-backs Nelson Semedo and Joao Cancelo.

Garcia was considered one of the brightest prospects in Barca’s La Masia academy when he decided to leave in 2017 to join Premier League champions Manchester City,

Guardiola handed him his full debut in a League Cup game against Leicester in 2018 and he has made 11 appearances this season, starting twice in the league and once in the Champions League.

He’s also been capped five times by Spain under-21s and Barca have followed his development closely since he left three years ago.

A number of different sources at Barca said the club view Garcia as a “good fit” centerback for the team’s style of football. He was brought up on the club’s philosophy and one of his major strengths is his ability on the ball.

Barca, who missed out on Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus last summer, have been searching for a central defender for a long time as they contemplate a future without Gerard Pique, who turned 33 in February.

Manchester City’s reluctance to sell makes a move for Garcia this summer unlikely, especially as Barca expect to be less active in the transfer market due to the effects the coronavirus pandemic has had on their budget. They will focus on their main target, Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez, and will not have money left over to invest elsewhere.

But sources tell ESPN that Barca will not give up on Barcelona native Garcia in the long-term and will continue to monitor his situation as he moves into the final two years of his contract at the Etihad Stadium.