Bilbao is not usually an easy place for Barça to go. San Mamés, one of the most intense stadiums in La Liga, welcomes the Blaugrana, forgetting the supposed sympathy between Basque and Catalan teams.

Tonight, if possible, the atmosphere will be even hotter. The reason is the Negreira case. Xavi already knows that, for the rest of the season, his team will have to isolate themselves on the pitch from everything that happens off it.

 

In that sense, in addition to chants, Athletic fans are planning to welcome Barça in a special way. On Basque fans' forums, some banknotes have gone viral, circulating in pdf format and in three different formats: the 500-euro note with the face of former Athletic vice president José Mara Enrquez Negreira; the 200-euro note with the face of president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, José Luis Rubiales; and the 100-euro note with the image of Barça president Joan Laporta on it.

It will be up to each of the fans who come to the stadium to decide whether or not to print these fake tickets, although the forums are encouraging them to do so. Barca will be playing to win the title in the last fourteen games and will need to escape everything that surrounds the club in order to become champions. The challenge is huge, but Xavi's side is proving they are more than up to it. The prize is too big.

Barca confident on Vitor Roque after Arsenal snub

Vitor Roque's signing by Barça is looking promising and there is some optimism at the Blaugrana that the deal could be completed this summer. The Brazilian player is determined to come to the Camp Nou and has already ruled out the option of Arsenal, although they are not the only Premier League club interested in him.

Vitor Roque froze all the offers he had when the definitive interest of Barça appeared. The Blaugrana took the decision this January to go for the Brazilian, ruling out the arrival of other young strikers such as Moukoko and clearly opting for the Paranaense striker. The reports were good and Xavi gave the final go-ahead, so after the quorum, the player's agent was told that they would go for him this summer.

Barça are playing with the peace of mind that for Vitor Roque it is a priority to sign for Barça this summer. The player's club is also aware of this, although they do not intend to lower their demands. What they are looking for now is a formula in which Barça can circumvent their salary cap problems to handle the operation. And all parties are keen to reach a satisfactory agreement.

Barça's idea is to bring in Vitor Roque immediately this summer so that he can acclimatise to European football as soon as possible. In the club's sporting department they are convinced that the Brazilian will explode at Barca and that he can be a fundamental part of the future project.