GIULY: ONLY BARCA CAN WIN IT

Former French international Ludovic Giuly has come out with the statement that it would be tough to see beyond Barcelona for the Champions League winners this time around.

Barcelona have won the Champions League twice in the last three years and that once again the favourites for winning the trophy this time around. However, their form has been indifferent of late and they have lost the advantage in the domestic campaign to Real Madrid. This has been largely due to the indifferent away form, which has seen them drop a number of points away from home. As a result of it, a number of clubs are looking to take advantage of Barcelona’s poor form by getting into the favourites for the Champions League title.

However, Ludovic Giuly is of the opinion that it would be tough to see beyond Barcelona for the winners of the Champions League title this time around. Barcelona have been drawn against Bayern Leverkusen in the last 16 knockout stages after having qualified from a tough group involving AC Milan. While Barcelona are expected to ease past Bayern Leverkusen, the same cannot be said of the upcoming rounds. Teams like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are looking stronger than ever, and they will be posing a great competition to Barcelona’s aspirations of becoming the first team to retain the Champions League.

“Winning La Liga will be hard, but Barca will win the Champions League. Everyone wants to play at Barca, there is no other club like this. The club’s system is based on using fast wingers. There is no other system like Barca’s,” Giuly told Esports COPE. Barcelona currently trail leader Real Madrid by a massive seven points in the league. Hence, they are expected to shift their focus to Europe after the start of the knockout stages.

ROBINHO IMPRESSED WITH PATO

AC Milan striker Robinho has said that his compatriot Alexandre Pato is one of the highly skilled and quality players he has ever played with. Robinho also said that Alexandre Pato has the opportunity to win the best player in the world award during his career.

Alexandre Pato moved to AC Milan as a teenager and has been regarded as one of the best players in the world. However, he has not been able to produce the same on the pitch due to a number of injury problems, which usually restricts him to just making around 30 appearances per season. It is thought that AC Milan are working seriously to reduce the number of injuries Alexandre Pato suffers during a season.

There have also been reports linking the Brazilian forward with a move to French club PSG, who recently appointed former AC Milan and Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti at the helm. Even though AC Milan were initially demanding around £ 45 million for the striker, it is thought that they would be willing to do business at around £ 25 million now given the number of injuries the striker has suffered in recent seasons. Still, AC Milan striker Robinho is of the opinion that Alexandre Pato can one day win the best player in the world title.

“I would advise Pato to stay here at Milan. I think that he could win the Ballon d’Or one day,” Robinho said when asked about Alexandre Pato’s future. “I’m sure that if I were to score 15-20 goals a season, I’d be one of the top five attacking players in the world. I’m working at it,” Robinho regarding his own chances of winning the Ballon d’Or award. Robinho also welcomed the arrival of Carlos Tevez, with whom AC Milan are currently negotiating with.

MESSI STAYING AT BARCA

Arguably the greatest player in the world of football at present, Lionel Messi has claimed that he wants to finish his career at Football Club Barcelona.

Messi asserted that the Catalan giants are the greatest club in the world at the moment and he wishes that he would get the opportunity to finish off his career with them. The Argentina international forward, who was named as the Best Player in the World two successive times in 2010 and 2011 is the clear favorite to land his third Ballon d’Or at the Swiss capital of Zurich on Monday.

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