Barcelona makes $322m statement as error Liverpool wouldn’t make is highlighted
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Liverpool Euro rivals round-up: Barcelona has made a $322m announcement while Real Madrid could pounce on a Chelsea transfer mistake the Reds wouldn’t make.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernández. (Image: Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Liverpool travels to Spurs on Saturday in what is the stand-out fixture in the Premier League this weekend, with perhaps only RB Leipzig hosting Bayern Munich able to rival it in terms of entertainment value.
The Reds have a good record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and won there last season thanks to two goals from Mohamed Salah. Diogo Jota netted a last-gasp winner against Spurs at Anfield to leave Richarlison heartbroken and, in fact, Liverpool has not lost this fixture since the infamous Dejan Lovren game at Wembley in 2017 when Spurs’ new ground was still being constructed.
While Liverpool might have been going under the radar a little, another good result here would perhaps make that a little more difficult. Brighton (also away from home) is the Reds’ next fixture, too, which will be another barometer of where the side is at as the 2.0 version of Liverpool comes together.
Here is the Liverpool.com take on some of the biggest stories around European football today ahead of the Reds playing Tottenham in North London on Saturday, with Barcelona and Real Madrid both featuring in the round-up.
Barcelona makes $322m statement
It has been one of the stories of the past few seasons that Barcelona has been struggling financially, but things have seemingly taken an upturn in the past year — though there is still a long way to go when it comes to a full recovery.
After announcing a net profit of $322m (£263m/€304m) for the 2022-23 season, a club statement on Thursday confirmed that Barcelona has reduced its debt for the second year in a row. Debt stood at $722m (£589m/€681m) as of June 2021 and has now dropped to $582m (£478m/€586m) at the same time this year.
Liverpool home shirt 2023/2024
“These results have been achieved in a season that will go down in history for the record operational figures in the commercial and venue operation sections,” a statement from the club read.
Liverpool.com says: Quite how much more work there is to do at Barcelona remains to be seen when it comes to economic levers and suchlike. It would be fair to say that Barcelona has been playing down its troubles for some time, though the numbers appear to be heading in the right direction.
Real Madrid keen on signing $76m Chelsea man on loan
Marc Cucurella was not a good signing for Chelsea, it is fair to say. Brighton once again got a huge sum of money for the left-back — as much as $76m (£62m/€72m) — only to replace him with Pervis Estupiñán, who is an upgrade, for a fraction of the cost.
Now, Real Madrid could sign Cucurella on loan, further compounding Chelsea’s transfer woes. That is according to ESPN, with Manchester United, before it signed Sergio Reguilón, also having taken a look at Cucurella during the summer.
Liverpool.com says: There are plenty of examples of where Chelsea has taken a risk that Liverpool simply would not have in the transfer market lately, but few seem bigger than Cucurella. He cost a huge amount and has simply not fitted in when Chelsea already had the very good Ben Chilwell to play in his position.
He was at least ‘only’ on a six-year deal rather than some of the even more extravagant contracts that Todd Boehly has handed out in recent windows. If Real Madrid could get him on loan, that would be a risk worth taking for the Spanish side, but would not really help Chelsea out that much in terms of rectifying the expensive mistake.
