Time is the measure of life. It brings novelty and blurs past. Present days blossom and fade faster than a little flower. It is not strange then that recent events, no matter how important, how great, how memorable, are soon buried by new stories, newer events. In the internet era, journalism, flooded with material, is more ruthless than ever, blinded in the narrative of news that kills any attempt of perspective. And sport journalism is probably the best example.

FC Barcelona won the King’s Cup on May 13^th, secured the League title on May 16^th and completed an astonishing treble by beating Manchester United in the Champions League final on May 27^th. Capture of the 3 major titles in a single season was something no other team could match in Spain and, for many, Pep Guardiola’s team had led Barça, a club with no shortage of legends and trophies, to the pinnacle of their more than 100 years of history. The impossible dream had come through and, however, less than a week after the Rome game, treble talk started to vanish abruptly from the discussion table.

Florentino Pérez, the enterpriser who reunited Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Owen and Beckham in a Real Madrid squad, became officially president of the club for the second time on June 1^st, with the promise that he would build a spectacular project, which immediately was perceived by media and fans as the beginning of a summer of big spending and shock moves. Kaká signing was made official on June 9^th. And, only 2 days later, Manchester United announced they had accepted an offer of 96 million Euros from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest fee ever paid for a footballer. That day Ronaldo not only made all the headlines, but rewrote history: FC Barcelona, it seemed, were no longer the triple champions, and the team they had beaten 2-6 on May 3^rd had become the best in the world without playing a game. The shock was of such magnitude that even Catalonian media were unable to hide the dawning of the new galáctico era from their more visible pages.

8 months of excellence and hard work already filed, FC Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, showed his unrest publically accusing Real Madrid of breaking the market. His words did not exactly calm his own supporters, who started to demand big names. Ibrahimovic, Ribery, Villa… but no one has been signed so far. In fact, the only operation in which Barça seem to be focusing their efforts could take one the recent heroes away from Camp Nou, as the club is looking for a buyer for Samuel Eto’o for the second summer running. In the meantime, Real Madrid purchase machine added 2 more respected names to their basket: Spanish international Raúl Albiol and French raising star Karin Benzema.

All the talk about numbers and money, style and fashion do not relate to the core of sport. They may have eclipsed Barcelona achievements but they are also rapidly transforming from an iconic football club to an entertainment brand. While most teams would be happy to represent the city or town they come from, this new Real Madrid has targeted the world. The road where Santiago Bernabéu stands, Paseo de la Castellana, will soon become some sort of Sunset Boulevard where stars walk in tracksuits and trendy fans wear white tops with a Portuguese name written on the back. Florentino Pérez, the brightest star of all, believes his golden balls will bring amazing wealth to the club and, along the way, some of those trophies made as excuse to put up all that glorious show. Because there is no chance they will fail, isn’t there? Perhaps Barça thought bitterly that they had climbed the highest mountain and now smile at the sight of another height to be reached.