Stoichkov stokes the fire: Barça "descending into chaos”

Former Barcelona player Hristo Stoickov was highly critical of the institutional situation and unrest at FC Barcelona, and warned that as it stands, the club is spiralling into chaos in the wake of Sunday’s defeat to Real Sociedad which prompted Carles Puyol and Andoni Zubizarreta’s departure from the club yesterday.

“It seems to me that Barça are descending into chaos. Everything is topsy turvy at the club right now – and added to that, the next game is against Atlético de Madrid. We don’t want to see Barça return to the days of [Louis] van Gaal – winning the league with just 13,000 in the stands. But we’re heading that way. We are on the same path that [former President Joan] Gaspar took in spending millions and millions, signing four or five players who are useless and only 20,000 turn up to watch the games. That’s what we’re heading towards,” Stoichkov told La COPE and Onda Cero radio.

Messi: “You have to look after the world’s best player. But now it seems that because he was granted an extra two days’ on holiday, he couldn’t play because it was too much of a risk of him getting injured. Who gave him permission for that? If someone authorises that it must be on the understanding that he returns and is able to play. All players must be treated equally. If Barcelona had won that game they would be top of the table and there wouldn’t be such a big deal. The problem is that they lost and the way they lost. Messi will recover and return. Barça’s problems are coming from within the club. Messi should end his career at Barcelona and that’s the end of it. There’s got to be a stop to all of this stupid infighting. He needs to be looked after, cared for. Name me one of Barça’s ex-foreign players who hasn’t been shunted out of the back door? When he needs to rest, let him rest on the condition that he goes out there and plays”.

Luis Enrique: “Five months ago, everyone was happy because the club had signed a coach who they thought would be the team’s saviour, who would instil discipline. But his arrival only masked the situation going on inside the club with the board of directors”.

Bartomeu: “Josep María only stayed on in the role of president because of what is written in the club statues but I think that the statutes need to be changed because no club member would vote for Bartomeu or Sandro Rosell. It’s a failure when a vice-president is able to occupy such an important role. Josep María is a good person; he understands basketball perfectly but football… It’s not his fault – he’s not the man to be President of Barcelona. He’s only in the job because a coward quit”.

The squad: “Barça have players out on loan at Sevilla, Porto – players who are doing well. Just five months ago, these same players couldn’t play for Barça because they didn’t have sufficient quality. Five months ago, they were not valued and now they are. Take Montoya’s case – the poor lad is not valued, they say he has no place in the team, he’s going, he’ll leave in January and now he’s played three games in the starting line-up…. There are too many controversies of this kind and I cannot even begin to fathom what is going on”.

Signings: “Xavi and Iniesta take all the stick – they’re the ones who are always in the firing line but, what signings have been made? I can’t understand why Barça didn’t go for Isco and Toni Kroos. It’s not Luis Suárez’s fault. He is a born goal scorer and yet they’re killing him like they did with Samuel Eto’o and Ibrahimovic”.

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1DtDgea

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