stop selling your stars! http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/barcelona-star-xavi-celtic-huge-2907471 XAVI last night told Celtic to stop selling their star players if they want to gain genuine Champions League credibility. The Barcelona midfielder believes the Hoops are caught in a Catch 22 situation which is destroying their chances of making an impression in the latter stages of the competition. Big-money summer departures of strike ace Gary Hooper and midfielder Victor Wanyama to the English Premiership left Celtic boss Neil Lennon deprived of arguably the clubâs two main assets during this termâs campaign, which is already doomed at the foot of Group H. With keeper Fraser Forster the latest to be coveted by a host of clubs, Xavi insists lessons need to learned and the Parkhead exit door must be bolted shut if Celtic are to be contenders amongst the continentâs elite. He said: âThere is no doubting the size of Celtic as a club but if they want to improve in Europe they must keep their top players. âThe performances of Wanyama last season meant he got a move to England and the same is true of Forster this season. âIt is a very difficult situation for them. If the players are not noticed it means they are not doing well in Europe but if they do well in Europe their best players get noticed. âIt is not an easy situation but they must try to find a solution.â The Spanish superstar also told Celticâs in-demand players the financial benefits of being lured away from the Scottish Champions could come at the cost of ending up at a smaller club. He said: âI understand Scotland is not the biggest league in Europe but players should think about it before they leave. âThey might be leaving for a bigger league in England but the truth is they will probably not be leaving for a bigger club.â Xavi also believes Celtic need look no further than Barcelona as proof it always pays to keep a firm hold on your best players. He said: âThere is always so much talk in transfer windows of who you bring in but we have shown at Barcelona it is the most important thing to keep the players you have. âYes you should always try to improve your squad â but keeping your best players should always be the priority.â
Aye but Xavi son... It's not like we have much control over it. Gone are the days when we have players who excell in the Europe and stay with us.
Zactly! If only Celtic could knock back the bids and keep teh team together but they'd be financially ****ed!
Not only that, but we knock back the bids, the player gets unhappy at the club blocking his dream move to the Prem, his form then dips to our own cost, then we lose him for nothing when his contract expires. Not fair
Of course we can do it if we want to. We could buy players at £12m and more , all we have to do is follow the footsteps of the smaller club in Govan . They bought players in from all over the world and wages was no problem as they had taxation genius Campbell Ogilivie who benefited from his unique interpretation of the British Taxation laws before organising that many Rangers 1872 players also benefited. It didn't really damage Campbell Ogilivie's Career progress as he became Head of Scottish Football , looking after The Rangers interest to this day .
