Crossing the divide

Reports in Spain (Marca) today indicate that former River Plate forward Javier Saviola might be leaving Barcelona on a free in the summer – and has a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid. In an inexplicable demonstration of how not to do things, which may well come back and bite them on the bums next season, Barça have been unwelcoming to El Conejito almost since his arrival, and especially this season, in spite of his being a plainly far better backup striker than Eidur Gudjohnsen. It’s worth noting that Marca are a notoriously Madrid-biased paper, but it seems that having failed to make him a contract offer, even after his goals during Samuel Eto’o's period out injured kept them at the top of the league, Barcelona may be about to lose Saviola to their bitterest rivals…