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Barca ‘window’ bliss but Ronaldo fuels Real row
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BARCELONA congratulated itself yesterday for a job well done in the transfer window, while rivals Real Madrid was dealing with the fallout from Cristiano Ronaldo’s apparent criticism of club president Florentino Perez.
The world’s two richest clubs by income again spent big, with Barcelona’s signings including Uruguay striker Luis Suarez for 81.25 million euros (US$107 million) and Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic for around 20 million euros.
Real lured Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez to the Spanish capital for around 80 million euros and snapped up Germany midfielder Toni Kroos for 30 million, seduced by the pair’s success at the World Cup finals in Brazil.
However, while Barcelona is widely perceived to have improved its squad as it looks to bounce back from a season without major silverware, critics have suggested European champion Real will be significantly weakened by the exit of midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel di Maria, sold to Bayern Munich and Manchester United, respectively.
The sense of unease was heightened on Monday when Cristiano Ronaldo, Real’s top scorer and current World Player of the Year, appeared to criticize Perez’s transfer policies.
The construction magnate has spent hundreds of millions of euros of the club’s money on the top players, with his strategy also driven by how many shirts new recruits will help sell.
Alarm bells rang at the club when it let slip a two-goal lead to crash to a 2-4 defeat at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday, when Ronaldo was sidelined by injury. “I have a very clear opinion but I cannot always say what I think,” the Portugal forward said when asked about his club’s recent transfer dealings.
“If not I would be on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow and I don’t want that. But, if I was in charge, maybe I would not have done it like that.
“But if the president thinks that the best thing for the team is to buy the players he bought and let others leave we have to respect his decisions.”
Ronaldo’s comments, together with grumbling from coach Carlo Ancelotti, will be uncomfortable for Perez and stand in stark contrast to the upbeat tone of a news conference given by Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta yesterday.
Zubizarreta said he was delighted with the squad and predicted Barcelona would be a major force under new coach Luis Enrique, who has replaced the discarded Gerardo Martino. “We again have a team that is at a very high competitive level,” the former Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper said. “I am very pleased and we will see how far we can go.”
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