Real Madrid

real and barca spent tons of money just to compete in recent years. Real madrid spent something like £420m in last 4 years, man city have spent £515m in last 4 years.

Man utd and barca try youth and a few buys and try to balance the books. I know real madrid earn a lot but still.

Utd are not a mega cash side

Several PL sides have spend far more including Liverpool !!

Hajifur, you are an idiot. 'Cash teams'? Not like Barca who brought Sanchez and Febregas this season?

They have spend HUGE sums over money over the last 5 years. And we just spend 50m on 3 players, hardley scraping the barrel you fool.

Real still have to play Atletico away (don't laugh, they've finally got a good manager), Osasuna away (lost there 1-0 last season and beat Barca this season 3-2 at home), Barca away and Athletic Club away.

Hay Liga!

Man utd and barca try youth and a few buys and try to balance the books. I know real madrid earn a lot but still.
---

It's especially pleasing to achieve success with players that your own team has brought through the ranks.

This is my main gripe as a Madrid fan, and has been for many a season now - especially considering the number of very capable players that come through our youth system and have to move elsewhere because the path to the first team is blocked.

To name but a few, Eto'o might only have spent a few years with us, but we let him go when we had the option to retain him. Mata's good enough for us. Negredo or Soldado might be as capable of banging the goals in as Higuaín if they got the sort of service Pipita gets at Madrid.

And who knows how many more would've fitted into a system they'd had engrained since their early teens.

The main reason imo has been the lack of a stable manager in our first team. The enormous pressure for immadiate results makes new managers reluctant to take a gamble on youth.

Unfortunately, now that we might (might!) finally have a bit of stability in that department, it's under a manager who doesn't really believe in promoting youth anyway.

Hope they do blow it, horrible club.

The best way to achieve success is by bringing a lot of young players through (preferably through the youth system, though this isn't essential) and letting them grow together into their prime. So they all reach the best point of their careers with complete knowledge of each other's games.
It is also necessary to buy experienced players to fill the gaps in quality left by the youngsters, and to help them grow into mature professionals.

This is partly what made Man Utd so good in the late 90s, and what has made Barcelona so good now.

To use examples in England: Chelsea went too far one way, and Arsenal too far the other. The correct balance must be achieved. Chelsea gained short term success with little thought of the long run, while Arsenal thought too little of the present and ended up losing their best players.

As for Real Madrid and Barca, 6 points is hardly a large gap bearing in mind Madrid have yet to visit the Nou Camp, which in my mind is essentially 3 points to Barca.

Still, it is rare Madrid drop three points elsewhere.

real dropped 4 points in there last 2 games. Confidence must be low.

Busby and Hafijur, calm down now: two United fans bickering.

One major point though, to say Barca doesnt spend money is just silly. Outside of City and Madrid, Barca are the next highest spenders in player acquisition and wages.
If news is to be believed, they have already signed Neymar on a pre-contract agreement for 20 million with 30 million to come when he signs. That is over 50million pounds for a kid.