Barcelona president, Joan Laporta has a tough transfer window ahead of him and he needs to find ways to bring in more funds into the club if they want to bring in some reinforcements next season. According to SPORT, Laporta is planning on being very shrewd in the transfer window and sell all the players who are not providing much for the club.
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Players such as Junior Firpo, Samuel Umtiti, and Neto will surely be sold next season while others should also keep an eye on their relationship with the new president. While no one wants to see their players leave, Laporta has no choice as the club is in tremendous debt and he will have to sell these players along with some big-name players as well.
Apart from selling players and renegotiating their wages, the Barcelona president has also made a few players untouchable, as in he will accept no bids from any clubs for these players. These players include the likes of Pedri, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, etc. These are the players that the club wants to protect at all cost and build the team around in the upcoming seasons.
Some players will have to reduce their wages in order to stay as well and some players will need to prove their worth in order to stay as Laporta is not quite sure about their importance in the club.
It will be a tough but exciting transfer season for Barcelona so let’s see who are the players who will be up for sale next term and who are the players who will continue to represent the Catalan crest.
Neto and Samuel Umtiti
Barcelona’s second-choice goalkeeper, Neto, will most certainly leave the club at the end of the season. The Brazilian goalkeeper has played second fiddle to Marc-Andre ter Stegen throughout his time with the Catalan side and now at the age of 31, he is no longer willing to waste the last few of his playing years on the benches of Barcelona.
Samuel Umtiti on the other hand is at the peak of his career however, he has not been the same since his injury after the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Umtiti has lost his position to Clement Lenglet and even academy players such as Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza have overtaken him in the pecking list. He can still bring a decent amount of money into the club via his sale and it might be good for him to restart his career elsewhere. Thus Laporta will definitely be looking to sell these players next season.
Junior Firpo and Miralem Pjanic
Two players who have failed to have any significant impact this season are Junior Firpo and Miralem Pjanic. While the former did seem to have a future at the club last season when he was played consistently, this season it has been established that the youngster is not good enough to replace Jordi Alba. Alba played in the first team for most of the season and Firpo only managed to make six starts the entire season. Koeman has come to the conclusion that Firpo does not possess the same qualities as Alba and thus he will be let go next season just like Nelson Semedo. Pjanic was also a strange transfer made by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu. He has not been a good fit at the club and only made six starts in the La Liga. He will be sold off by Laporta next season as well.
Riqui Puig, Matheus Fernandes, and Martin Braithwaite
Matheus Fernandes was one of Barcelona’s only three transfers this season. The central defensive midfielder was brought in from the Brazilian side, Palmeiras, for a fee of 3 million pounds. He played only seventeen minutes the entire season and seems to have been forgotten by the club. He will definitely not be missed by the club next season.
Riqui Puig is a talented youngster and Laporta loves the academy boys, however, Puig has not played much this season and he could bring in some much-needed funds if he gets sold. He could also be moved away from the club on a loan so that his wages will no longer burden the club too much while he also gets some much-needed playing time. Laporta seems to be in disagreement with Koeman concerning Puig which might see the youngster continue as a substitute looking to become a starter.
Braithwaite on the other hand is a striker whom the club will not miss at all when he is gone next season. He will most definitely be on the transfer sheet given that he was never good enough for a club like Barcelona, to begin with. The arrival of Sergio Aguero will most certainly mean that Braithwaite will be sold next season.
Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann
The Catalan president has decided that apart from a few, everyone can be sold next season and yes, that even includes the likes of Coutinho, Dembele and Griezmann. Coutinho had yet another flop season with the club and after being their most expensive player in their history, Barcelona are probably ready to let go of him. The Brazilian had yet another injury-ridden season and Laporta will probably not let him stay around the club for another season. He can still bring in significant money for the Catalans and selling him next season would be the best thing to do.
Dembele and Griezmann had decent seasons this year however, even their places are not secure. Both of them can bring in close to 100 million euros each and that would be extremely useful for the club at the moment. Griezmann’s positive form recently can definitely help them break even if they decide to sell him.
Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba
Pique and Alba are two of the Blaugrana’s most important veteran defenders and they continue to perform regularly for the club. However, the club must also accept that these players are not getting any younger and sooner or later they must find their replacements. The players will still be important for the club even if they are replaced by the younger generation however, the current wages that they are on cannot be sustained by Barcelona and the two will have to renegotiate with the club. They will most likely have to take a wage cut if they want to continue playing for the Blaugranas. Should they be refusing to do so, they will most likely be sold off although they won’t bring much money into the club due to their age.
Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets
Two more players who have an uncertain future at Barcelona are Roberto and Busquets. While Busquets is a legend at the club, he isn’t getting any younger. Given that Busquets has seen a tremendous improvement under Koeman, the Spaniard fails to keep up with the speed of young midfielders on top-tier clubs like Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and many more. The player’s age has finally caught up to him and he is a player who can no longer keep up with the pace of the younger generation.
Footballers such as Ilaix Moriba will eventually have to take over his role. Thus for now, Laporta has decided that Busquets must either accept a wage cut or look for a new club. Roberto has struggled with injuries this season and with the arrival of Sergino Dest, he has fallen down the pecking list. Roberto was having some problems with his wages in the transfer negotiations and if he is not up for a wage reduction, he will be sold by Laporta. His recent performances also do not help his case and it won’t be surprising to see him being sold this summer.
Sergino Dest and Trincão
Sergino Dest and Trincao were two of the only three new transfers that Barcelona made last season and it is safe to say that neither of them could show their true potential in their first season with the club. While Trincao was hyped to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo, he has only managed to score 3 goals across all competitions in 42 appearances. On the other hand, Dest has been much more important to the team and he basically replaced Nelson Semedo, who was sold off to Wolves at the start of the season. He made 41 appearances this season but had more starts than Trincao and he was more consistent in his position. However, even he was not able to show his best form and he was nowhere as good as he used to be in Ajax. Both of their forms have been below satisfactory but their futures at Barcelona are probably secured given their age as they have massive room for improvement.
Clement Lenglet
One of Barcelona’s biggest doubts is one of their main defenders, Clement Lenglet. The French international has been Blaugrana’s first team center-back for quite a while and his partnership with Gerard Pique has been the club’s first choice. However, this season after the injury of Pique, players like Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza have shown their potential. Their abilities have shown the Barca board that the youngsters have enough talent to replace the likes of Pique and Lenglet as well. Lenglet on the other hand has been mediocre at best and Araujo has surpassed him in terms of talent. There is a huge doubt on his future after the astronomical rise of Araujo and Mingueza, Plus the arrival of Eric Garcia will further cast a shadow of doubt on Lenglet’s Barca career.
Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza
Araujo and Mingueza have been the two of the most impressive defensive academy graduates this season. The two center-backs were introduced into the first team after the injury of Pique. When the veteran center-back was injured, Lenglet was the only fit senior center-back left. Samuel Umtiti was also out with injuries. Thus the two inexperienced defenders were brought into the team after many delegations. They have been fantastic this season and they have brought a new life to the Barcelona defense. Araujo has arguably been one of the best players on the team the entire season. Thus after such important performances, Laporta has made it clear that he will not be selling either of the players and they will continue to be important members in the Barca renovation project.
Ilaix Moriba, Ansu Fati and Pedri
Ilaix Moriba, Ansu Fati, and Pedri have been some of the youngsters who have proven themselves to be the future of the club this season. While the former two did not get much game time due to different reasons, the time that they did get on the pitch, they managed to make the most of that. Fati played in the first 10 matches of the season and managed to score five goals while providing four assists. However, after that, he suffered a serious injury and was forced to miss the rest of the season. Moriba on the other hand managed to make 14 appearances for the main team this season and has managed to showcase a lot of his abilities. He is surely one for the future and Laporta will be hoping that Moriba will be slowly integrated into the main team. Pedri has been revolutionary for the club last season and he had more than 50 appearances at only 18 years of age. Pedri has been named one of the untouchables by Laporta and rightly so.
Marc Andre Ter Stegen and Frenkie de Jong
Two of the most important players this season have been Ter Stegen and De Jong. The two experienced players have managed to play out a decent season and without their support, Barcelona would not have been able to win the Copa del Rey or finish third in the league. The German goalkeeper has once again shown everyone why he has been the Blaugrana’s first choice for years and without his performance in between the sticks, it would have been impossible for the Catalans to have the amazing mid-season run. Similarly, Frenkie has also played an important part in the season this year and his versatility has been really useful. He has played as an attacking midfielder, defensive midfielder, and even as a center-back. These two have shown real dedication to the club and Laporta has stated that he will not be selling them under any conditions.
Lionel Messi
Last but definitely not least, Lionel Messi has been the player that Laporta has been dying to keep at the club. The player is running out of a contract and by the end of June this year he will become a free agent. To avoid this, Laporta will need to negotiate a new contract with the legend and Messi will have to agree to a significant wage cut. However, recent reports suggest that the player is willing to stay on at the club and in his recent interview he admitted that winning the Copa del Rey was a huge success for the club and there are a lot of new and young faces in the club who had a great confidence boost after the win. It seems as if the Catalan king will stay with his boyhood club and Laporta will be able to negotiate a new contract with him.
Which of these players do you want to be sold this summer?