 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 29 June 2011 21:27 |
Nani dismisses Barca link: “I’m at the best club in the world”Winger repeats desire to stay Portugal international Nani has stressed that he intends to remain with Manchester United, despite reported links with European champions Barcelona.
Nani has seen his name connected with various clubs across Europe in recent weeks, with Barcelona the latest to be suggested as a possible destination for the winger, who has seen his future called into question following United’s signing of Ashley Young. “I have played for Manchester for many years and played alongside players of the highest quality, so a quality player like Ashley Young arriving will not intimidate me. I played with Cristiano Ronaldo and was not intimidated.” Follow PortuGOAL on Twitter and Facebook |
Remember that Serie A teams also dismiss UEFA Cup and Europa League. Unlike the EPL squads,Serie A teams haven't done enough to keep the league from losing a CL spot.
The money differential between Europa and and the Champions League is huge. Eventhough there are leagues that still honor UEFA/Europa, many dismiss it.
I due agree with you in regards to Man United having front running fans. But doesn't Barca, Real, AC Milan and even Porto have them. For that matter so does, Benfica.
When you are a "World Club", that will always be the case, but that's what brings in the money as well.
For example, at a much lower level, Braga will make plenty of money off Nuno Gomes merchandise. There will be Benfica, Seleccao and Nuno fans that will buy the jersey.
At a much higher level, everyone screamed about the fee Real paid for CR7 yet he averaged selling two jerseys a minute for over six months. If you ask me a great deal for Real.
I know that I went off track a bit, but I don't think you can say Barca is more popular than Man United, nevermind Real.
Are they the best team in the world right now? Absolutely.
I actually believe they were when they lost to Inter. In the end, they just couldn't break them down.
No offence but you sound like you have the same arragance as the English...which doesn't get you anywhere just look what happend to the national team in the World cup 2010 and their bid to host 2018 World cup.
Best can mean many things.
If you want to say that Barca is the best team in the world right now, I get it.
But if you want to base it on world wide popularity, no.
Man United plays in the most watched league in the world.They also have a huge following in Asia. Truth be told, Real is still bigger than Barca in popularity.
There's no denying Barca's current superiority on the field.
Let me also make the point that Barca pays the highest wages in the world. Even more than Chelsea. They are still looked at as the little team that could, yet they spend as much as Real.
They are also known for the "Jogo Bonito", but yet have some of the worst divers in the game. Busquets, and Alves are prolific at it, and have apparently begun influencing Pedro.
They also have very chippy players. I respect the toughness of some and loathe the others.
As for the "Jogo Bonito" there is nothing more boring than watching Barca passing the ball from midfield to the backline while holding a 1-0 lead vs another team. Don't get me wrong, I love watching Barca attack it just doesn't happen often enough. At least as often as it should.
As for Man United, they had one of their worst years, and they still won the EPL. They went undefeated for huge stretch, but had to struggle all the way. Yet SAF managed to keep the team going and won a record breaking 19th title.
If you think that Chelsea is going to breeze through with AVB, think again. They have an older squad that they are trying to change over. The problem with that they have players like Lamps that expect to be key players, when they have slipped badly. I am also interested to see how Terry reacts to any changes. Especially after having a bad year.
Arsenal is losing players instead of buying. Wenger still brings in no leaders to a squad that desperately needed one. They are slipping instead of rising.
Liverpool, still has a lot of work to do. A new stadium is still a priority, for a team looking for revenue.
Tottenham proved last season that they still can't compete when having to play on all fronts. Missing out on CL money, will force them to sell. So instead of bollstering the squad they will weaken it.
City actually has the best opportubity in defeating Man United. I still say that it will take them another year, especially with CL play this season.
If I may bring it full circle, there is no better place for Nani than at Man United. He had a very good year, and needs to improve on it. SAF is not easy to play for, but he will make him a better player.
Orlando - Man Utd are widely regarded as the biggest club in the world. I don't support them but they do have a glittering history and a worldwide fan base that Real & Barca can only dream about.
They also play in the best league in the world in front of full stadiums every week in a competitive league. Again, something Real & Barca can only dream about (or maybe not - perhaps Real & Barca enjoy playing in front of a few thousand people at Levante and winning 5-0 every week).
Of course 'best' is just someones opinion. It's not just about how many trophies the club has, its also about the league they play in, the fans, the manager (25 years service and counting).
If Barca are intrested him he should go they are the best team in the world. In fact Real Madrid and Chelsea will be better then Man Utd next Season. Man Utd will be a sinking ship once Alex Ferguson calls it a day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XpEoCvW2Wo
Sergi Busquets would be the first one to give him a handshake.
If a big offer came in for him I don't think Sir Alex would have a problem selling him.
Nani will be spending a lot of time on the bench next season. I hope he has a blanket ready for the long winter months. It can get cold sitting on the bench on a Tuesday night in January.
Still, he should get some Carling Cup games along with Michael Owen and Anderson.
I guess time will tell. Sir Alex knows best, so we'll see how he rotates the 3 wingers. I'm sure Valencia & Young will have to sit out some games too. Probably when they are rested for the big games.
I suspect Nani will mainly play against weak teams and Valencia/Park/Young will be used in the big games.
I just hope he performs well for the seleccao this autumn, because some of his recent performances for the seleccao have not been up to the required standard.
I would like to see him dropped and have Varela & Ronaldo on the wings for the crucial games with Iceland, Cyprus & Denmark. But that's a debate for another day....