Joan Laporta took office as the FC Barcelona President on 17th March 20, 2021. In his opening speech as the president, Laporta openly pledged that he and the club will do everything possible to convince Lionel Messi to stay with the Blaugrana beyond this season.
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"“I take the opportunity to say again that I will try to convince Leo (Messi) to stay with us. That is a must-do task, I will do all I can. He knows it. And my apologies Leo, for saying this right here and right now, but you know of my love for you, Barca loves you a lot and if this stadium would be full when you play the next game I am sure you wouldn’t be able to leave. (via Sky Sports)”"
The biggest task for Laporta will be to revive the club from the financial disaster that has seen the club suffer. Laporta is confident that the board has plans to make Barcelona economically viable and revitalize the club treasury.
Once the economic issues subside to a certain extent, Laporta will need to address the contract situations of certain players who Barca may risk losing for cheap or even for free if an extension isn’t agreed. According to Mundo Deportivo, President Laporta will discuss the futures of the following players in near future.
Here are the four players Barcelona will hope to renew in near future:
Lionel Messi
Unsurprisingly, the renewal of Messi is of utmost priority, who is unarguably the best player in the club’s history and possibly in the history of football. Laporta smartly voiced his desire to renew Messi in his inaugural public speech, in a way, persuading the Argentine on a public platform.
At this point, it’s not an extravagant contract that Messi is looking for but wants to see real efforts by the club to build an attractive project that sees Barcelona regain their dominance on the European stage. The humiliating losses to AS Roma, Liverpool and Bayern Munich despite having an explosive team and Messi in the last few years have really brought the sporting project in question.
Many would argue that the club has lost its venom on the Champions League stage and teams are no longer afraid of facing Barcelona. Messi and Laporta are desperate to change that notion.
If the President is able to lay down a strong foundation for his sporting project that emphasizes building a team with a mix of youthful La Masia exuberance and experienced personnel, it might just do enough to convince Messi to stay. Laporta is expected to meet Jorge Messi, the 33 year old’s father and agent, in the coming days to discuss Leo’s future.
Ousmane Dembele
Signed from Borussia Dortmund to replace Neymar, Ousmane Dembele has had a torrid time at Camp Nou due to injuries but there has been a ray of hope this season. Finally, fit, fresh and motivated under Ronald Koeman, Dembele is proving he can be an asset to the team, starting to live up to the hype and expectations that were created in 2017 when he arrived in Spain.
Dembele is known for his exemplary dribbling skills and the ability to make defenders dance to his tunes. While earlier he used to lose the ball too often, he now keeps hold of the ball and manages to evade an opponent that has reflected in his play, as he sits 6th in the table for players dribbled past with 56.
Offensively, the Frenchman has matured and been more decisive in the final third. Dembele registers 13.82 progressive carries (3rd in the table) and has 56 carries in the final third. In front of the goal, the 23 year old definitely needs to improve with his shooting skills, averaging a shot accuracy of just 30.6% which is very poor as per his standards. (stats via FBref)
The former Borussia Dortmund player has given enough evidence to Barca that he is still capable and is worthy of wearing the Blaugrana shirt. His deal runs out in 2022 but Koeman is content with the player and the player is happy with the opportunities which might make the deal extension conversations a lot smoother.
Oscar Mingueza
Oscar Mingueza’s contract has a clause of auto-renewal if that clause is exercised before May 31. The La Liga giants are happy with the metamorphosis of the Spaniard as he stabilized the defence in absence of Gerard Pique.
Mingueza has admirers form Real Betis, Sampdoria and Brighton but they’ll fail in their pursuit as its only a matter of time before Blaugrana exercise the deal extension option. The La Masia product has flexed his all-round abilities this season.
Defensively, Mingueza has a 64.5% tackle success rate against dribbles, while also registering 4.18 tackles+interceptions per game. Being a centre back at Barcelona is one of the hardest tasks because not only you have to have adept defending skills but also be comfortable carrying the ball and possess strong distribution skills. Mingueza has a pass completion of 91.2%, 6th in the % pass completion table.
When he is on the pitch, Barcelona have +/-90 of 1.64, meaning that when he’s on the pitch the team scores more goals and concedes less. Now, Mingueza doesn’t play a huge part in scoring goals but his presence at the back allows the team to venture forward with the assurance of him being alert at the back to block any opposition attacks. (stats via FBref)
This is just the start of his Barcelona career and with the future of Samuel Umtiti in doubt, Barca may have a reliable replacement within the ranks.
Ilaix Moriba
One of the best starlets in the Barcelona team right now, Ilaix Moriba is showing unbelievable promise. In the last few years, during Josep Maria Bartomeu’s presidency, Barcelona had lost sight of its philosophy of relying on academy players and instead became just another club buying top players.
Under Koeman that has changed with Laporta also a fan of La Masia, after all, it was during his presidency, the players such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta were promoted to the senior team. Moriba might have just 254 minutes of football under his belt but the potential shown is immense and could be the next big midfield gem that Barcelona produce.
Interestingly, there are reports stating Barcelona have dropped the idea of signing Georginio Wijanldum on a free transfer as Koeman is satisfied with Moriba and his qualities. The youngster ticks all the boxes and is much younger than the Dutchman.
Moriba’s current contract runs till 2022 and has a release clause of 100 million euros. The 18 year old’s father who is the acting agent has already communicated to the club that Moriba would like to continue at the club despite interest from Manchester United and RB Leipzig.
Will Lionel Messi remain with Barcelona?