Mes Que Un Club.
It's increasingly true that Barcelona are more than a football club. They have recently become a kind of post-modern study on the concepts of irony and hypocrisy. Last year, there was the fundamentally absurd social media campaign calling on fans to tweet that #WeAreAllLeoMessi in support of Messi's being handed a suspended sentence for tax fraud.
And fresh off the wires today, we have more nonsense from Barca, as they announce that they are going to sue Neymar for having the gall for breaking his contract.
This is no dodgy report from Spanish radio, but comes from an official statement by the club.
The club announced today that they are suing him for £7.8 million in damages following his move to PSG, and are now trying to reclaim a 'loyalty bonus'.
Here's the statement:
FC Barcelona has sent to the Royal Spanish Football Federation the labour demand that on 11 August was filed against the player Neymar Jr before the Social Court of Barcelona, to transfer it to the French Football Federation and Fifa, to the appropriate legal effects.
In this lawsuit, the club claims to the player the amount already settled corresponding to the renewal premium for breach of contract; €8.5m euros in damages; and an additional 10% in arrears. The club also claims that the Paris Saint-Germain subsidiarily assumes payment of these amounts in case the player can not take over.
FC Barcelona has promoted these actions in defence of its interests, after a unilateral termination of the contract urged by Neymar Jr, a few months after the signature of its renewal until 2021. This defence will be exercised following the established procedures before the Competent bodies and without entering, in any case, in dialectical disputes with the player.
Whatever about the rights and wrongs of Neymar earning a loyalty bonus just before leaving the club, Barca pettily stomping on their moral high ground over a player's gall for breaking contract looks pretty hypocritical in comparison to a report that emerged earlier today regarding Phillippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian's move to Barca looks dead in the water now, and as a result, he and his representatives have begun rebuilding bridges at Anfield.
As part of that process, he is holding 'clear-the-air' talks with Jurgen Klopp, and says that the emailed transfer request was all Barcelona's idea. Here's the relevant line from The Independent's report:
The Independent understands that the player and his representatives are ready to admit defeat and will look to talk to key Liverpool figures to smooth over the summer's events. People within the 25-year-old midfielder's entourage are pointing the finger at Barcelona for manipulating their client and have suggested the Nou Camp club used family members to provide additional pressure. They insist the ill-conceived email was Barca's idea.
And on another main target, Ousmane Dembele, Borussia Dortmund have accused Barca of acting inappropriately in their pursuit of the player:
Here's Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke after Dembele refused to train:
It is not that Ous is making fun of us, he simply declines to do his job. That is a new quality.
And we should talk about the role of glorious FC Barcelona in this matter.
On Wednesday [last week] we met with Barcelona’s officials. Our positions were very far away from each other. Then, on Thursday, he did not show up at the training.
The timing of these events is very curious. You don’t believe a 20-year-old will refuse to go to training without his possible new club liking that?
I think everyone [in the Bundesliga] is happy that we remain firm. It’s important that we won’t budge in the discussion of the price.
So while Barca don't like Neymar breaking his contract, they certainly don't mind convincing others to do so.
