Barcelona’s boomerang kid contemplates stop-over at Manchester United

The prospect of Thiago at Manchester United has me drooling like a St. Bernard on a hot day. I have not been as excited about a potential transfer since Alex Ferguson bought Carlos Tevez in 2007 and although that eventually turned sour, there is every reason this might not. Still, I will not go out and tattoo ‘Thiago 11’ on my chest and I probably won’t have his name printed on my replica kit.

At Barcelona, Thiago was (is) kept out of the team by generational talent; people are going to remember Xavi and Iniesta as we remember Zidane and Deschamps, or our fathers remember Cruijff and Neeskens - living legends, in the literal sense of the cliché – and they are notoriously difficult to displace.

Look across to Santiago Bernabeu for a recent example. Casillas was once the best goalkeeper in the world and that reputation follows him; when he was rightfully demoted by Mourinho, there was national outcry. True, the media circus following Real Madrid is louder than most, but the principle stands. Xavi and Iniesta are immutable, pretty much. To Thiago all of this adds up to a need to change clubs.

It will be great for United if they end up signing him for one hundred obvious reasons. It will not be all that bad for Barcelona either. All signs point to Thiago being a success in the Premier League, although all signs pointed to Veron being a success as well, but things do not always work out.

If the promise is fulfilled, three years later, Moyes will still be in charge and we will be one closer to knocking Liverpool off their perch. If not, well… £17 million is what we paid for Anderson, so no big loss. The scenario for Barcelona is rosy either way. They might have cashed in on an unfulfilled talent (like dos Santos and Bojan) or they might have some equitable interest in a top player.

Think Fabregas, Pique or Alba. The trend in recent years has been for Barcelona to get their man, whoever the man is. From the dirty tactics used to land Fabregas to the patience they have shown with Neymar, few can refuse a call from Camp Nou. This has been especially true of their former youth players. It seems that the mes que un club propaganda campaign gets to those who have been there - no doubt helped by the allure of Messi, and Xavi, and Iniesta, and playing with style.

This makes me wonder, what happens when Xavi retires if Thiago confirms at United? Do Barcelona spend crazy sums to bring the prodigal son home? Do they start a two year media war to drive the price down, infuriate every football fan not connected to the club and make Rupert Murdoch richer? Would they even bother with a player approaching his peak years?

To me it is glaringly obvious that they will snatch him back if they want to. It might not be the ideal situation for United, but we might as well adjust to reality. In the meantime he can help the club, grow and gain experience, go to a World Cup, maybe win a trophy and we can ready Nick Powell to take over from him. In an alternate scenario, he might become attached to the club, or Barcelona might find a replacement and we will have a class central midfielder for as long as we want.

All in all, the only party that stands to lose from this deal is Thiago. He is at a club where he is comfortable and wanted. He will get games, the coaches know how to nurture young players and he has plenty of players around him from whom he can learn. He is set to break through eventually and cement his place in that team. What does he stand to gain by moving? First-team football.

If it doesn’t work out though: if he’s too slow for the Premier League, or too weak, or if he gets homesick and doesn’t adjust to the cold winter, he has a real problem. Barcelona will not want a mediocre player back and even with United’s midfield problems, he’s unlikely to impress playing below standards. Then what? Off to Queen’s Park Rangers? Or Turkey? That is not a career worthy of a player of his potential.

Then again, all signs point to him being a success in the Premier League.

A twenty-something whose love affair with football has ruined more relationships than he’s been in, Florian Powell is now trying to put things right by ranting about it.

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