YounGunner wrote:
Irish gunner wrote:
He makes a massive amount of appearances for Barca despite being dubbed "a failure." He's an important player for them, and one of the most productive in the entire league.
Thiago has been sold, they're looking a bit light in CM as it is.
Xavi is old and declining.
Cesc has a 50% sell on clause, he's not exactly the best player to sell if Barca are trying to raise funds.
I personally can't see Cesc wanting to move, he's "living the dream," doubt he'll give up so soon.
1. He has been getting alot of minutes but usually he's the first to be substituted when things are going wrong and gets next to no minutes in the bigger fixtures, especially the big European ties. With the arrival of Neymar he will only fall further back in the picking order. Neymar will occupy the left forward role, which means Iniesta will play nearly every game in the middle, alongside Busquets and Xavi. Cesc will start the season on the bench unless they change their formation and play a 4-4-2 diamond midfield with Cesc playing behind Neymar and Messi.
2. Fabregas is more of a forward than a midfielder these days.
3. Fabregas and Xavi are different type of midfielders, i don't think he will ever be classed as Xavi's heir. Barcelona would rather play Cesc as a false no. 9 than in the heart of midfield.
4. That is not true. It is only 50% of the profit after the base fee Barcelona paid for him.
5. He's had a pretty rough time in Barcelona. I don't think he's enjoying his football, he himself said that he prefers to play a more direct style of football whereas Barcelona play patient and methodical football. He isn't appreciated by the fans either.
1. He made the most starts out of all of their outfield players last year, maybe not in the big games, but he's clearly an important player. Stats from last year:
La liga - 30 starts, 2 sub appearances.
CL - 6 starts, 2 sub appearances
According to whoscored, 25 of those starts were as a midfielder.
Neymar will upset the balance somewhat, but I still see Cesc playing a key role next year. Their midfield is very light in numbers, regardless of Neymar's arrival. They have:
Xavi
Iniesta
Busquets
Cesc
Song
Mascherano (predominantly a CB now)
Plenty of appearances and opportunities for Cesc.
He makes the majority of his starts as a midfielder, this will only increase due to their complete lack of options after Xavi and Iniesta.
He's a quality player and they'll fit him in somehow once Xavi is done.
Source?
Point 5 is always going to be subjective, I personally don't see him giving up so soon. He's at his boyhood club, playing an important role, in his hometown city, close to his family, in a great position to win trophies, and far more likely to play for Spain while at Barca than any other club (bar Madrid).
