MADRID: Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara will be out of action for around two months after damaging ligaments in his right knee in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Sevilla, the La Liga club said on Sunday.
The promising Spain Under-21 international, who sat out the London Olympics because of a tibia injury, will miss 11 matches, starting with Tuesday’s Champions League game at Benfica and Sunday’s La Liga ‘Clasico’ at home to Real Madrid, Barca said on their website.
There was better news for coach Tito Vilanova earlier on Sunday when captain and central defender Carles Puyol, playmaker Andres Iniesta and fullback Adriano were declared fit after injury and included in the squad for the trip to play Benfica.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has won the backing of members for statute changes that will make it harder for outsiders to seize control of the wealthy La Liga club.
The changes, approved at a general assembly in Madrid on Sunday, will mean presidential candidates will have to have been club members for at least 20 years, up from 10 years.
They must also personally provide a guarantee worth 15 percent of the club’s budget – around 75 million euros ($96.49 million) – rather than relying on any third party as has sometimes happened in the past.
A construction magnate and one of Spain’s richest men, Perez told members he had nothing against “sheikhs or Russians” and was attempting to protect the club and its 70,000 members, who legally own the Spanish champions and elect the president.
“Sincerely, not just anyone can come here and take over the club, however much gift of the gab he has, and run it into the ground,” Perez said.
Perez is moving to shore up Real as its annual revenues soared above half a billion euros for the first time in the 2011-12 season.
Real made 514 million euros, up seven percent from the previous season and the most of any sports club, and returned a post-tax profit of 24.2 million, Perez said. (Reuters)