FC Barcelona News: 15 January 2019

Barcelona spend 562 million on wages a year | Sport
FC Barcelona, La Liga champions, have become the first club to pay over half-a-billion in salaries. It’s a 42 per cent rise on 2017’s figures, as KPMG’s Football Benchmark study revealed as they looked at the champions of each of the top eight leagues in Europe.

Barcelona hit the training pitch with five B team players | Marca
Following the 3-0 win over Eibar, Barcelona have returned to work ahead of their next encounter, which is against Levante in the Copa del Rey. Miranda, Chumi, Wague, Guillem and Mujica have all joined up with the first team from the Barcelona B team, with Thursday’s match in mind.

The first half of the season in numbers | FC Barcelona
Scoring more goals than most of the other clubs in the division logically leads the Barça numbers 9 and 10 to be top scorers in the division. The blaugrana captain leads the way with 17 goals and the Uruguayan is close behind on 14. Could the ‘pichichi’ wear blaugrana for the fourth season in a row? Messi claimed the award for the fourth and fifth time in 2017 and 2018 whilst Suárez was top dog in 2016.

We bet you didn’t know THIS about Messi’s 400 La Liga goals | FC Barcelona
Lionel Messi scored his 400th La Liga goal on Sunday night in his 435th career game. But you already knew that, right?! So, here are a few facts you didn’t know about the Barça number 10’s latest milestone.

Why Barcelona wanted Jean-Clair Todibo after just 10 games in Ligue 1 for Toulouse | ESPN
Two-and-a-half years ago, Jean-Clair Todibo was still playing here, captaining the under-17s. Now, the 19-year-old is set to line up alongside Lionel Messi at Barcelona next season after agreeing to a deal to sign for the Catalan club on a free transfer this summer.

Total pressure from PSG for Frenkie de Jong | Sport
Frenkie de Jong’s future could be decided in the coming weeks. The pressure for the Dutch midfielder from PSG is total, and both he and agent Ali Dursun say that before the end of the window he will decide his future. De Jong, who was convinced by Barcelona’s offer, also has others on the table, although PSG are pushing the hardest.

Barcelona’s striker search intensifies | Marca
Alvaro Morata is a more expensive target with Chelsea keen to give up on the Spaniard after two seasons of simply wretched form, although Atletico Madrid remain a more feasible option. Olivier Giroud has often impressed with France and currently finds himself on the fringes of Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea team, he also meets the criteria set by Valverde despite having no LaLiga Santander experience.

Barcelona ‘study signing’ of Girona striker Cristhian Stuani | Football Espana
Barcelona are considering signing Girona’s in-form striker Cristhian Stuani in a €15m deal this month, according to multiple reports. The 32-year-old is La Liga’s third highest scorer this season, netting 12 goals in 15 starts – behind only Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, both of Barca.

Barcelona to move for a left-back in summer | Marca
Barcelona lack adequate cover for Jordi Alba at left-back and the club do not plan on bringing anyone in during the January transfer window. After Lucas Digne’s departure to Everton, Ernesto Valverde requested the signing of a left-back, while the board insisted on giving a chance to Marc Cucurella and Juan Miranda.

Source: barcablaugranes.com