Tuesday, 25th June, 2013
Dutch legend Johan Cruyff has maintained that he would understand it if his former club Barcelona ultimately decide to sell their promising youngster Thiago Alcantara during the current transfer window, adding that such a move is always part of a club’s "philosophy".
The 22-year-old Barcelona alumni is believed to be hot in the crosshairs of Premier League champions Manchester United, with the English heavyweights ramping up their chase of the talented midfielder by giving him a lucrative seven-digit salary offer.
But the Catalan giants are understably unwilling to see such a hot prospect leave the Camp Nou, and it is thought that the two gargantuan clubs are now in a virtual "tug-of-war" to see which side will get Thiago’s coveted "yes".
Such a duel of epic proportions is understable for someone of Thiago’s potential. Indeed, the young midfielder managed to manufacture a total 16 goals (six scored, ten assisted) for both club and country during the 2012/13 campaign, including a momentous hat-trick in Spain’s 4-2 European Under-21 Championship final win against Italy.
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"People can think what they want, but Barcelona are not doing this purposefully", Cruyff told Spanish daily Marca in an interview.
"At this point comes the philosophy of the club – you should assign, sell and invest in a player and do it as what you think is right", added the football legend.
When asked if how he would handle the situation, Cruyff said: "If he really has little chance to play, then he has to go."
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