Blaugrana maneuvers: Lubos Barton out, Pete Mickael in contract dispute

What seemed inevitable is nearly official, as FC Barcelona gets set to release Lubos Barton. Between the signing of Kosta Perovic earlier in the week and Barton’s troubling Achilles tendon injury suffered late in 2008-09 combined to make Barton redundant for the Blaugrana. Even with the departure of Barton, Barcelona is currently carrying 13 players on its roster. Expiring contracts include those of Fran Vázquez, Roger Grimau and Gianluca Basile, plus an option on Terence Morris. The club is also involved in something of a dispute with 2009 signing Pete Mickael. While Mickael has complained of a taxation clause that charged him at a higher rate than a previous contract with TAU Vitoria had, Barcelona club secretary Joan Creus stated that the situation is “very clear”: In June 2009, Mickael had his February 2009 contract revised, extending him through the Euroleague finals for 2010. Barça’s official line on Mickael is that “he remains under contract for €3 million.” Interestingly en...