FC Barcelona

Getafe president Angel Torres Sanchez has said the club are prepared for a possible exit of forward Angel Rodriguez to Barcelona, but the Catalans have yet to make contact.

Goal reported the latest comments from the Getafe boss: "For us, Angel would be an important loss, but we are prepared for that situation. We have no news of this interest of FC Barcelona."

The 32-year-old is seen as one of the favourites to strengthen the Catalans on an emergency basis following the injury to Ousmane Dembele.

Per Sport, Barcelona are allowed to sign an emergency replacement outside the transfer window if Dembele's injury sidelines him for more than five months. The national federation will have to agree to the move, and the player has to be registered in Spain already or be without a club.

They name Angel as the favourite, while Deportes Cuatro (h/t Spanish Football Podcast) say the priority is Cristhian Stuani. Willian Jose and Loren Moron are also mentioned:

Deportes Cuatro say Cristhian Stuani is Barça's no.1 target if they're allowed to sign an emergency striker, ahead of Ángel, Loren, Willian José https://t.co/PiNMxEBNpk

— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) February 5, 2020

Angel's €10 million release clause would make him an attractive addition, as it's unlikely Getafe will let him walk for less. The club from the capital is having a phenomenal season, tied with Sevilla for third place in La Liga.

The 32-year-old has been a big part of that, netting a team-high nine goals in the Spanish top division this season. He has done so while making just six starts, with the bulk of his appearances coming off the bench. That makes him one of the most efficient scorers in the country:

Ángel has the best minutes-per-goal ratio in LaLiga, just ahead of Messi, says MisterChip https://t.co/7eTdxaDHcD

— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) February 5, 2020

A career journeyman, Angel has had stops with Elche, Levante, Eibar and Zaragoza in the last decade, before landing in the capital in 2017. He spent time on the books at Real Madrid Castilla as a prospect, but never broke into the senior side.

Barcelona are desperate for attacking depth after failing to address the position in January. They moved Abel Ruiz and Carles Perez without bringing in any replacements, and with Luis Suarez and Dembele on the sidelines, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati are the only healthy forwards in the squad.

Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal has said Barcelona didn't want to sign Bruno Fernandes before his transfer from Sporting CP to Manchester United.

Abidal told Sport (h/t Metro) that he admires the Portugal international, but admitted the Spanish champions were interested in signing Valencia forward Rodrigo.

"He [Fernandes] is an interesting player, but the agents try to do their job," Abidal said. "We did not have that need. They sell you the product, but we were not interested at all. Rodrigo really interested us."

The former Sporting skipper finally made a move to Old Trafford after protracted negotiations, with the midfielder completing a €80 million (£67.6 million) deal, per Metro.

Sky Sports News reported on January 28 Barca were ready to snatch the player from United's arms with a late bid, and would use Fernandes in a deal to sign Rodrigo. It was reported the Catalan club would negotiate an 18-month loan for Fernandes to Valencia.

However, United got their primary target, and it seems Barca weren't interested in capturing the talisman.

Fernandes made his Premier League debut on Saturday during the goalless draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the midfielder will be used for his creativity by the Red Devils.

Speaking to fan outlet Batzine (h/t AS), Valencia president Anil Murthy explained Barca's bid for Rodrigo fell short of their valuation:

"Valencia did not receive a suitable offer that reflected the high quality of the player. Everyone in the market knows what Valencia were asking for.

"And if you can offer with real cash, then great. If you can't guarantee an exact kind of payment, then we can't go through with it. We'll not entertain offers which are not backed by money, because it also destabilises the player."

Barca ended January without a major striking addition despite Luis Suarez being forced out by a knee injury.

The La Liga holders announced the January signings of Braga's Francisco Trincao and Palmeira's Matheus Fernandes, but both will remain with their clubs until the summer.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu reportedly will not implement drastic measures after Lionel Messi's criticism of Eric Abidal.

Messi had objected to the Blaugrana director of football's suggestion the players were discontent under former coach Ernesto Valverde.

However, Albert Masnou of Sport reported on Wednesday that Bartomeu will attempt to reconcile the pair in the hope of stabilising the situation.

Abidal told Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz the club decided to make a managerial change to Quique Setien in December after the goalless draw with Real Madrid at the Camp Nou:

"We watched the games and not the results, but how we played, the tactics, the work of the players who don't play a lot. I'm focused on those details. Many players weren't satisfied or working a lot and there was also an internal communication problem. The relationship between the coach and the dressing room has always been good but there are things as an ex-player that I could smell. I told the club what I thought and we reached a decision."

Per Juan Jimenez of AS, the 40-year-old's comments led to a response from Messi via an Instagram story by the Argentinian.

"I think that when someone mentions players, they should give names because if they don't, they are tarring everyone with the same brush and fuelling gossip—a lot of which is not true," the captain said.

According to Masnou, the Frenchman will suffer no repercussions from Bartomeu, and unity will be the president's focus in the weeks ahead.

Messi's seniority and importance at Barca reportedly could have affected the standing of Abidal, with whom he was a team-mate for six seasons. However, with the club trailing Madrid in La Liga, all efforts will turn to issues on the field, with the champions three points behind their bitter rivals.

Barcelona manager Quique Setien said he has nothing to do with the crisis building at the club involving star forward Lionel Messi and director Eric Abidal.

Per AS, the latter criticised Xavi Hernandez and former manager Ernesto Valverde in an interview with Sport while also saying certain players didn't work hard enough under the former boss. Messi responded via Instagram, telling Abidal to name those players and that everyone should stick to their responsibilities, per Lucas Sposito of Sport Witness.

Setien faced the press ahead of Thursday's Copa del Rey clash with Athletic Bilbao, and unsurprisingly, the row between the two was a major topic.

When asked about the issue, he said:

"The things you [the reporter] have mentioned are significant, but they don't affect me, and I'll try to make sure they affect the players as little as possible. We spoke about the [Messi-Abidal] issue for one minute. We have to focus on the game; that's our chief concern. I'm interested in the football; everything outside of that is something I can't control.

"This is a situation that affects you [the media], but not me. I focus on the football. All I'm interested in is giving my players the tools they need to win. There are problems in every club in the world. There are things I won't be able to control. Speak to me about football; the rest doesn't interest me. The rest doesn't help me in my job."

He also said Messi is free to respond as he pleases: "He has the experience and the knowhow to decide what he has to do. I'm not going to tell Messi how to live his life―or anyone else, for that matter. My job is to make sure they come into work happy. The rest isn't down to me."

According to Sky Sports, Abidal's future at the club is at risk after the public spat:

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has called a meeting with Eric Abidal to discuss the sporting director's future at the club following a public disagreement with Lionel Messi.

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 5, 2020

A former team-mate of Messi, the 40-year-old has been the director of football at Barcelona since 2018.

Per Robbie Dunne of AS, the situation is a complicated one because of the fact Messi has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the club for free.

That gives him far more power than most players in the sport:

The problem with not backing Messi is that he has that clause that says he can leave at the end of the season. Imagine losing the best ever for nothing. https://t.co/6126F5zkmG

— Robbie Dunne (@robbiejdunne) February 5, 2020

He's not the only player who wields an impressive amount of power, per Reuters' Richard Martin:

And if anyone wants to have an idea of how little power Valverde had, watch the Matchday Documentary where you can see Pique laughing about the fact that Valverde tried to stop them from having a night out in New York.

— Richard Martin (@Rich9908) February 5, 2020

Valverde was sacked in January after a Spanish Super Cup defeat to Atletico Madrid, despite leading the side to back-to-back La Liga titles. Consecutive UEFA Champions League exits from winning positions against Roma and Liverpool were held against the tactician, who was seemingly on thin ice throughout the first half of the season.

Xavi was one of the candidates linked with the job, but according to Abidal, the Blaugrana never offered it to him:

Abidal: We didn't make Xavi a contract offer https://t.co/vtMTDFOztV

— SPORT English (@Sport_EN) February 4, 2020

Barcelona instead went with Setien, who had been out of a job since departing Real Betis in May. The Blaugrana have won four of five matches under the new boss since, but they have struggled to generate chances and were badly exposed by Valencia in a 2-1 defeat in La Liga.  

Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal has praised Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and confirmed the Catalan club will be in the market for a new centre-forward this summer. 

Abidal also said Aubameyang was one of several names Barca considered in January as they weighed up getting a striker to fill in for Luis Suarez, who will be out until May after knee surgery.

He told Sport (h/t Goal's Stephen Darwin): "There is a list with players like [Olivier] Giroud, [Fernando] Llorente or Aubameyang, but for one thing or another we decided not to sign [anyone]. We believe it is the best for the club."

The former Barcelona player is an admirer of Aubameyang's:

Aubameyang is on Barcelona's radar 👀 pic.twitter.com/UvA07pTXNc

— GOAL (@goal) February 5, 2020

He added:

"It is logical that in summer a 'nine' will come. It is a necessity. We know that Suarez will come back strong, but you have to bring a top player in the summer.

"We do not know if he will be young or experienced. We only look at the talent and adaptation they may have. We must think that some top players have come and have not adapted well."

Suarez had 14 goals and 11 assists from 23 games before his injury, but he's 33 and no longer as mobile as he once was, so Barca could already have done with having more cover for him even before his injury.

Aubameyang is a pacy and versatile forward who can play through the middle or provide cover on the left wing if needed. He's prolific, too:

Two years ago today, Aubameyang joined Arsenal

His stats don't lie 💯 pic.twitter.com/7WkmU8MtxP

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 31, 2020

The Gabon striker's efforts in the Premier League since his arrival in England have been almost unrivalled:

Since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's debut for Arsenal in the Premier League...

Only Mohamed Salah has scored more goals! 🙌

He was born to score 😎 pic.twitter.com/E21tHykyhb

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 31, 2020

Arsenal marked his two-year anniversary with the club with a video of some of his highlights:

Always laughing. Always smiling. Always scoring.

How can you not love this guy?! 😍

😂 @Aubameyang7 pic.twitter.com/w0bzUUyfzO

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 31, 2020

Aubameyang will be 31 in June, so he wouldn't be a particularly long-term acquisition for Barca. However, at the end of the season he'll only have one year left on his Arsenal contract, so he may be available at a reasonable price.

What's more, he'd likely be open to leaving. Arsenal have endured a poor season in the Premier League. They've won just six games—only the bottom two, Watford and Norwich City, have picked up fewer—and only two of those have come since October 6.

The Gunners are 10 points off a place in the top four as a result, so winning the UEFA Europa League is their only realistic chance of being able to offer UEFA Champions League football next season.

Even if they manage to pull that off, Barca can not only offer Champions League football but also a chance to win that competition. Since 2005, they've only failed to reach at least the quarter-finals once, and they've won it on four occasions in that time.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has reportedly called for an "urgent meeting" with Eric Abidal after team talisman Lionel Messi criticised the club's director of football for comments made in a recent interview.

RAC-1 (h/t Juan Jimenez of AS) reported Bartomeu has scheduled a "clear-the-air meeting" for when the Frenchman returns to Barcelona from a business trip on Wednesday afternoon, with "speculation already rife with those well connected with the club that Bartomeu may decide to call time on Abidal's tenure at FC Barcelona."

Abidal told Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz that "many players weren't satisfied or working a lot" towards the end of Ernesto Valverde's tenure, with the former coach having been replaced by Quique Setien in January. The 40-year-old added there was an "internal communication problem" affecting performances.

Those comments led Messi to reply via an Instagram story (h/t Jimenez), in which he posted a screenshot of Abidal's quotes and captioned the image with his retort, via Agence France-Presse's Tom Allnutt:

Messi after Abidal said Valverde was sacked because of the players: “Everyone has to be responsible for their job...when you speak about players, you should give names. If you don't, you're tarnishing everyone and feeding things that are said that aren’t true." pic.twitter.com/b2alRq1rNE

— Tom Allnutt (@TomAllnutt_) February 5, 2020

AS translated the full post into English, which read:

"To be brutally honest, I don't like doing these things, but I think that every person has to take responsibility for their own duties and the decisions they take. That includes the players, in what goes on out on the pitch—but we are the first ones to recognise when we haven't played well. Those in charge of the Technical Area also need to assume their responsibilities and above all, the decisions that they make. Lastly, I think that when someone mentions players, they should give names, because if they don't, they are tarring everyone with the same brush and fuelling gossip—a lot of which is not true."

Abidal—who made 193 total appearances for the Blaugrana between 2007 and 2013—added that while all was well in terms of Valverde's relationship with the squad, there were things he "could smell" weren't right.

The former Barca defender replaced Robert Fernandez as the club's director in June 2018, five years after he left the Camp Nou as a player.

It's rare for Messi to become publicly involved in club dealings, and The Spanish Football Podcast said the Argentina international's frustration is based on the suggestion he was partly to blame for Valverde's dismissal:

No, Abidal was talking about the player's role in the sacking of Valverde, which is why Messi is so annoyed (he thinks people will assume Abidal was referring to him, perpetuating the idea that Messi gets whatever he wants)

— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) February 5, 2020

The 32-year-old's contract at the Camp Nou is due to expire in June 2021, meaning Bartomeu and the rest of the boardroom may be particularly wary of upsetting their six-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Commentator Andy West suggested Abidal could be sacked but said it's the man who hired him, Bartomeu, who should be considered for the exit:

So Bartomeu is going to fire Abidal today? Maybe it needs to be the other way around

— Andy West (@andywest01) February 5, 2020

Setien has won four of his five matches since he took over at the Barca helm and is targeting a third successive victory when they face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Thursday.  

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has hit out at director Eric Abidal after the latter appeared to hint the players were the reason former manager Ernesto Valverde was sacked.

Abidal spoke to Sport and said some of the players weren't working as hard as needed. Per Lucas Sposito of Sport Witness, he also spoke of communication issues and relayed his thoughts to the club board ahead of the decision to sack Valverde.

Messi took to Instagram, saying people should take care of their own responsibilities and Abidal should name the players he was speaking of (h/t Spanish Football Podcast):

Messi responds to Abidal re: Valverde’s sacking: “I think everyone has to be responsible for their own jobs and take responsibility for their decisions... when you talk about players, you should give names because if not, you’re feeding things that people say and aren’t true” pic.twitter.com/nYDSPyY515

— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) February 4, 2020

Spanish football expert Sid Lowe was shocked:

Holy moly, Barcelona is falling down

— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) February 4, 2020

Valverde was sacked in January and replaced by Quique Setien after a defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. The Catalans were leading La Liga at the time―tied on points with Real Madrid―and the tactician had guided the team to two straight domestic titles.

His shortcomings in the UEFA Champions League and the dire style of football played by his teams were seen as the main reasons behind his sacking. The Blaugrana have played more attractive football under Setien, but they have slipped behind Real in the title race.

The January transfer window was a disappointment for Barcelona, who failed to bring in a replacement for the injured Luis Suarez. Fellow forward Ousmane Dembele suffered an injury of his own on Tuesday, and he could miss the rest of the season, per Marca.

That leaves the team with virtually no depth at the forward positions. Abidal is responsible for recruitment, and per Sposito, some will see Messi's comments as a dig at the director. Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan believes his days are numbered, and the fallout could reach far beyond that:

Messi doesn't speak often... but when he does...

— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) February 4, 2020

Abidal clearly in big trouble / days numbered in his current job. Interview today not clever but he's also clearly not main responsible for general mismanagement going back well before his return in summer 2018.

— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) February 4, 2020

Looks to me like summer presidential elections kinda inevitable now - with Messi having power to force them due to his contract clause allowing him to leave if he wants.

— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) February 4, 2020

A former team-mate of Messi, Abidal returned to the club in 2018 to take on the post of director of football. 

In the same interview with Sport, Abidal said work is underway on a contract extension for Messi. He hopes they can settle on a long-term deal, rather than renewing every year as the Blaugrana currently do. 

Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele has suffered another hamstring injury and could miss the rest of the season. 

The Catalans confirmed the latest setback in a tweet:

INJURY UPDATE | Tests carried out on Ousmane Dembélé today have confirmed that he has a complete proximal hamstring tear in his right thigh. In the next few hours a decision will be made on the treatment to be followed for his recovery. pic.twitter.com/fk7KgzaMC6

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 4, 2020

According to Marca, the Frenchman's season is over.

Spanish football expert Sid Lowe also feared his season is over. 

The 22-year-old complained of discomfort in his leg during Tuesday morning's training session, and while the issue was initially believed to be muscle fatigue, later tests revealed it was much worse.

It's the latest in a long line of injury setbacks for the speedster:

Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele could reportedly miss the rest of the season after tearing his hamstring on his comeback from injury pic.twitter.com/f1mvQWWFos

— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 4, 2020

Dembele has appeared in just five La Liga matches and four UEFA Champions League outings so far this season. He hasn't played since November 27, lasting just 26 minutes in a 3-1 win over former club Borussia Dortmund.

He was nearing a return to action, and new coach Quique Setien had big expectations for the youngster:

Quique Setien can't wait to have Ousmane Dembele back in action 😍

🗣 "You have to keep in mind that they are still young kids. Their dedication, from what I have seen, is total and absolute.

"I have tears when I see the capacity and intensity in which he works." pic.twitter.com/AON6pyxLiU

— GOAL (@goal) February 1, 2020

The injury is a massive setback for the player and the Blaugrana, who were already without the injured Luis Suarez. Per Sport's Javier Giraldo, Setien said the club were looking for attacking help in the January transfer window, but instead of adding another forward, they ended up moving Carles Perez to AS Roma and Abel Ruiz to Braga.

Those decisions could prove costly, leaving Barcelona with just three healthy forwards in Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ansu Fati. The latter has been a revelation this season, but at the age of 17, he was not expected to have to take on a major role this soon:

As for Barcelona, they now have to hope Messi and Griezmann stay 100% and that Ansu Fati can handle the workload of being essentially a week in, week out starter.

Don’t think many envisioned the 17 year-old becoming a completely key piece to Barca’s season.

— EiF (@EiFSoccer) February 4, 2020

Junior Firpo, a natural full-back, may be asked to play more minutes in an advanced role to spell Messi and Griezmann. Barcelona are already highly dependent on the duo and have to make sure they don't run them into the ground during the second half of the season.

Juventus playmaker Federico Bernardeschi has said he was flattered by Barcelona's reported interest in him during the January transfer window. 

Barca reportedly wanted to sign the 25-year-old from Juve in a deal that would have seen Ivan Rakitic move the other way, per Calciomercato.

The move never went through, but Barca could try again to sign Bernardeschi in the future:

#Bernardeschi will remain at #Juventus until June and be evaluated in the mezz'ala position after which his future will be decided ⚪️⚫️@goal

— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) January 29, 2020

The Italy international said he is proud to be linked with a club like Barcelona, but he also hinted he remains happy at Juve, per Tuttosport (h/t Goal's Chris Burton):

"Does Barcelona's interest make me proud? Absolutely, yes, that's normal. When top clubs like Barcelona are looking for you, it's a source of pride, but I'm already part of a top club."

Bernardeschi has a contract with Juventus to 2022, which he signed when he joined the Old Lady from Fiorentina for £35 million in 2017.

He has never been a guaranteed starter in Turin, with 36 of his 66 Serie A appearances for Juve coming from the bench.

He does, though, provide valuable attacking depth for the Italian giants, who regularly fight for silverware on multiple fronts.

The same is true of Barcelona, and it seems unlikely Bernardeschi would get any more game time at the Camp Nou than he does at Juve.

The Italian is versatile, able to play on either flank, as a No. 10 or even in central midfield.

But his preferred position is as an attacking winger, where Barca already have numerous options, including Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati. 

Ousmane Dembele was forced out of Barcelona training on Monday after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Barcelona have offered an update on the Frenchman's fitness:

LATEST NEWS | During this morning’s training session, Ousmane Dembélé felt some discomfort in his right leg as a consequence of muscle fatigue. He will continue with his rehabilitation. pic.twitter.com/rlK7IgHoGb

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 3, 2020

Dembele has been out of action since Barcelona's 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on November 27. The forward was forced off after 26 minutes of the match with a hamstring injury and was ruled out of action for 10 weeks.

The 22-year-old spent the first part of his recovery in Qatar but returned to Barcelona training in January for the next stage, per Marca. 

New manager Quique Setien had suggested in his press conference before Sunday's win over Levante at the Camp Nou that Dembele was not too far away from a first-team return, according to ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden:

Setien says would be too soon to use Dembele tomorrow, but doesn't rule him out for Athletic or Betis next week. Clear he won't take any risks.

— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) February 1, 2020

Barcelona will be hoping Dembele's setback is not serious, as the club are light on options in attack.

Striker Luis Suarez has been ruled out for four months after undergoing knee surgery, while the club also lost two youngsters in the January transfer window.

Carles Perez joined Roma on loan with a compulsory purchase option, and Abel Ruiz signed for Portuguese side Braga in a similar deal.

Barcelona were linked with a move for a striker in the January transfer window to bolster their injury-hit attack but ultimately decided not to bring any players in, per Ben Hayward at the Evening Standard.

However, Setien told Sport that having Dembele back in action would be like having a new signing.

"Ousmane Dembele is going to be an extraordinary signing for us," he said. "He's back training, and he's training really well. He's going to help us a lot, having him back is a huge incentive for everyone."

Setien may now have to wait a little longer before being able to select Dembele in his starting XI for the first time as Barcelona boss, and he will continue to rely on Antoine Griezmann, Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati in attack.