Barcelona as a city has recently been through a similar tragedy as London. Please note that I am not making a comparison about the severity of the attacks rather the nature of the attacks as they were both terrorist attacks.
As residents come to terms with what happened and come together, football is not left far behind as Barcelona joined the country in a moment of silence before training. Other La Liga clubs are expected to do the same. This provides a show of force and solidarity, like phoenixes rising from the ashes only stronger, faster and smarter.
La Liga is set to start providing another treat for football watchers as the premier league is also gaining mileage. This is looking to be a really interesting season for football in different leagues.
Dembele could make the move before the season starts
The breakthrough in this transfer was made on Thursday when Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc met with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, sporting executive Oscar Grau and director Raul Sanllehi during the Champions League draw in Monaco.
They must have had a very productive talk because on Friday Barcelona announced the deal on Twitter. Although the initial fee has already been paid thus helping solidify the deal, there are still a number of steps left plus the second payment which could raise the price up to €147 million as reported on yahoo sports.
There are still a couple of steps left to be done after which if all goes well, Dembele should be able to suit up for Barcelona in their first game following the international break on Sept. 9, at home in La Liga against Espanyol.
Dortmund although losing a key player has made a huge profit in the sale
Last season, there was a lot of competition to buy Dembele.
This came from Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich. Dortmund won the player and bought him at €15 million. This means they will have made about 10 times as much as what they paid for him in a year. Not bad math if you ask me.
However Dembele's game play will be missed on the pitch and he will leave a gap which will need to be filled and quick, probably from their own current squad members as the transfer window is about to close.
He is reported to not have been happy with the departure of coach Thomas Tuchel under whom he scored 10 goals while also providing 21 assists. Tuchel played him on both wings and at times in the middle so as to mix up the competition and create often lethal openings.
Dembele said, "Thomas has always been there for me and taught me a lot." Come to think of it, maybe this among other things contributed to him missing training after hearing rumours that Barcelona wanted him. Barcelona is not taking any chances with the player as they are putting up a large release clause out on the 20-year-old for the next five years worth €400 million.
Real Madrid in better form than Barcelona
Real Madrid at the moment can be said to be sporting a complete team.
They are performing beautifully and have recently started this season by beating both Manchester United and Barcelona, during the UEFA Super Cup and the Supercopa de España Final respectively. It is safe to say they are on fire.
Barcelona, on the other hand, lost Xavi, and Iniesta their star captain is on his last legs and Liverpool don't want to let go of Coutinho.
The Catalan Giants need to bolster their defence and mid field as they have already bolstered their attack. Suarez has also been out of commission for a short while.
We all wait with bated breath as these games continue in all the leagues and see what the future has in store for us.
