VIllarreal news roundup

Rumors: Rossi's agent says he has an agreement with Barca, Rossi wants to go, all that remains is for the teams to come to an agreement. Meanwhile VP Llaneze says Barca haven't made a formal offer yet.  Presumably that will be coming soon.  But instead of Bojan, could we please have this guy?

At the same time, though, Barca is apparently continuing its long courtship of Cesc Fabregas, who reveals himself to be a Mets fan here.  Poor fellow.  As if playing for Arsenal wasn't suffering enough....

Honors: UEFA has included two Submarine players, Mario Gaspar and Mateo Musacchio, in its team of ' young revelations' or 'surprises'.  Athletic Bilbao is the only other team with two players on the list.  And although the UEFA La Liga XI is dominated by the big two with 9 of the 11 players, Borja Valero is included!  Giuseppe Rossi gets an "honorable mention" in the article but didn't make the starting lineup; Messi, "CR7" and Kun are the trio up front.

Other: The Spanish squad got together yesterday for a training session, today they are on their way to Boston.  Exciting for those of us going to the game with five Submarine players.....!

And for no particular reason, here is a photo of ex-Villarreal star Diego Forlán and girlfriend at the NBA finals last night.  I wonder how many of the fans there recognized him?

********

A few non-Villarreal related items involving money in La Liga (or the lack thereof):

Racing Santander's Ali Syed deal is falling apart--he hasn't paid for his shares, the old owner is suing him, and the players remain unpaid.  And the incoming Cantabrian leader is saying his government may not be able to bail the club out a third time. Their coach is rumored to be leaving for Sevilla, too.

Speaking of players not being paid...in England there is a rule (the "football creditors rule") that provides that players get paid, even ahead of the taxman, when a club is in bankruptcy.  Many in the UK rail at this, but at least it avoids the situation existing in Spain.  The players' union is threatening to hold up the start of next season because over 250 players are owed wages by their clubs.  Included are Rayo, Betis, Herculés, Recreativo, Córdoba, Racing, Real Zaragoza....the list goes on and on.

Part of the problem is mismanagement at the club level of course, in particular overspending during the Spanish "boom years", but the domination of the big two in La Liga, as well as the failure of the league to market itself globally in an effective fashion, hasn't helped.  One wonders when (if) any of this will change.