Barcelona completed the signing of Valencia’s Andre Gomes right from under the noses of bitter rivals Real Madrid and the fans didn’t miss out on the opportunity to share a hearty laugh at the expense of the Los Blancos.
Barcelona surprisingly wrapped up the signing of Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes from Valencia in quick time when it looked like Real Madrid had sealed a deal for the 22-year-old. The Euro 2016 winner signed a five-year deal with the Catalans and is expected to be unveiled by the club next week. Barcelona are reported to have paid a fee in the region of £45.6 million (£29 million initial fee + £16 million add-ons) to secure the player’s transfer from the Mestalla.
[BREAKING NEWS] Agreement with Valencia CF for André Gomes #AndreGomesFCB pic.twitter.com/n1cmdHd4ET
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 21, 2016
Social media expressed it’s surprise at the news as many reputed sources tipped the Portuguese midfielder to join his national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid. The Blaugrana faithful gleefully grabbed the opportunity to take a dig at their rival club and their supporters on Twitter as observed by our compilation of tweets below. That said, there were many who praised Barcelona’s business this summer and their investment in young prospects.
Barcelona signings this summer: Digne, Umtiti, Denis Suárez and André Gomes. All 22-years-old.
Next: Vietto (22).— Sergi Domínguez (@FutbolSergi) July 21, 2016
My man Andre Gomes is now average and carried by Messi. Welcome to FC Barcelona bro
— Ahmad (@ChieflySarcastc) July 21, 2016
Andre Gomes will cost Barcelona an initial €35m plus a further €20m based on broken hearts and exploded ovaries pic.twitter.com/igb5dw3g7h
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) July 21, 2016
Madrid were close to the signing of André Gomes at 22:30 and by 23:00 the player joined Barcelona. (COPE)
— The Catalan Giant (@TheCataIanGiant) July 21, 2016
André Gomes to Real Madrid was practically done at 22:30, but then FC Barcelona ‘hijacked’ Gomes away from them at 23:00 [@mofejo]
— Papers Of Barca (@PapersOfBarca) July 21, 2016
. @aftgomes only has 52K followers. Let’s fix that!
— totalBarça (@totalBarca) July 21, 2016
#Barca have been silent assassins this window. Denis Suarez, Umtiti, Digne and now #AndreGomes .The average age of those signings btw….22.
— Francis Maxwell (@francis_maxwell) July 21, 2016
Barcelona sign midfielder Andre Gomes for £41m from Valencia. Many thought he was Real Madrid’s fallback option if they didn’t sign Pogba
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) July 21, 2016
2013: Neymar
2016: Andre GomesI feel sorry for Real Madrid fans ??????
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) July 21, 2016
Well that came out of nowhere #AndréGomes #FCB pic.twitter.com/OR6azwpaVq
— Onefootball (@Onefootball) July 21, 2016
Madrid papers were *very* bullish on Andre Gomes to Real Madrid today.
Barca just announced an agreement to sign the Valencia midfielder ?
— Ed Malyon (@eaamalyon) July 21, 2016
Barca have nabbed Andre Gomes for lots of money. Despite the fact he looked like a hungover Adam Lallana for all of Euro 2016.
— Si Lloyd (@SmnLlyd5) July 21, 2016
André Gomes rejected a similar economical offer from Real Madrid as he preferred to play with Messi and Iniesta who he admires [sport]
— ️️️️barca (@cuIegirI) July 21, 2016
Age of Barcelona’s 4 summer signings:
A. Gomes (22)
D. Suarez (22)
S. Umtiti (22)
L. Digne (23)Building wisely. pic.twitter.com/h10u6IZDu8
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 21, 2016
When you realize you will play with MSN https://t.co/QG6pSA1rVM
— #J (@ElAficionadofcb) July 22, 2016
While some fans questioned the price tag of the player, others believed the 22-year-old was an incomplete project and had the potential to become among the best centre-midfielders in the game. Some believed that playing as an understudy to the likes of Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic can help fecilitate his improvement and that he is definitely worth the investment Barcelona have pumped in to sign him.
Gomes can become one of the complete CMs I’ve discussed at length. Needs work defensively, but the world is his oyster.
— Registability (@registability) July 21, 2016
Gomes being incomplete isn’t unusual given his age. He can contribute positively short term but is also a project. Very good purchase IMO
— euler (@euleri) July 21, 2016
As for the money, as many of you asked me when Gomes was announced, I was puzzled, but likely just to be part of next summer’s budget.
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) July 22, 2016
When you watch Gomes play-don’t watch his feet. Watch his head. Plays looking up. Looks over his shoulder to both sides receiving the ball
— euler (@euleri) July 22, 2016
Andre Gomes is very good. I won’t really complain. Not sure if we needed him, but he’s great from what I’ve seen from him so far.
— Jojo Culé (@jperkovic93) July 21, 2016
Meanwhile reports emerging from the Madrid camp stated that the Los Blancos opted out of their pursuit for Gomes after unsettled James Rodriguez had made it clear that he wanted to stay. Now whether that is a genuine claim or a diplomatic cover-up can be up for discussion.
MARCA:
Madrid withdrew from signing Andre Gomes at the last minute after James made it clear he wanted to stay. pic.twitter.com/aenVshfwQo
— M.A.J (@UItraSuristic) July 21, 2016
Tbf the media did. Suddenly out of nowhere RMCF being linked to Gomes surely left me gobsmacked. Glad its over. https://t.co/dwYd4cjpj6
— M.A.J (@UItraSuristic) July 21, 2016
Did Mendes and FloPer have a fight or something? I’m still trying to understand this Gomes thing.
— Diana Kristinne (@DianaKristinne) July 21, 2016
