Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal has on Sunday continued to etch his name ever further into the history books of the club.
As much comes owing to his appearance in Barca’s latest outing.
Xavi’s troops are of course currently locked in action, in a La Liga meeting with Rayo Vallecano – the club’s last at home this season.
In a matter of hours, FC Barcelona will lock horns with Rayo Vallecano in their final home game of the 2023/24 season.
A win against Inigo Perez’s side will guarantee a second-place finish for the Blaugrana, ascertaining their participation in the Spanish Super Cup for next season, which will bring in significant cashflow.
Going into the match, though, Xavi Hernandez has some selection issues to deal with, one of which involves key defender Ronald Araujo.
Araujo has not played for Barcelona in their last two matches against Real Sociedad and Almeria due to some discomfort.
And while he resumed training yesterday and was named in the squad list today for the Rayo Vallecano encounter, there is still uncertainty over his situation.
In fact, Javi Miguel of AS reports that Araujo still has not fully recovered from his knee discomfort with under four hours left for kickoff.
As such, there is a very small chance of the Uruguayan international being named in the starting XI by Xavi against Vallecano.
Araujo was included in the squad list as this will be Barça’s final home game of the season and the player did not want to miss it.
However, chances of him starting are minimal as things stand, and it even remains to be seen if he does feature in any capacity or not.
With plenty of speculations doing the rounds about Araujo and his future, it will be intriguing to see whether it turns out to be his final home match in the Blaugrana colours.
Meanwhile, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, and Alejandro Balde are definitively ruled out through injury for Barcelona.
PSG and Barcelona are among the clubs interested in Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the most likely scenario for the Georgian star is a contract extension with a release clause.
Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis is ready to meet Kvaratskhelia’s agent, Mamuka Jugeli, to discuss a contract extension for the Georgian ace.
According to the latest report of La Gazzetta dello Sport, a new summit between the two parties will take place at the beginning of the campaign, so not later than in two weeks.
Kvara has demanded a new €5m-a-year contract through his entourage, while Napoli will not offer more than €4m plus add-ons.
The winger’s agent has already informed the Partenopei about PSG and Barcelona’s interest in his client, but the Ligue 1 giants would be the favourite in this race because of a better financial situation.
President De Laurentiis has not ruled out a sale, but according to Gazzetta, the most likely scenario would be for Kvaratskhelia to extend his contract with the Partenopei, including a release clause in his contract.
How much would it be worth? Surely more than €100m and potentially close to Osimhen’s clause between €120m and €130m.
Kvara only gets €1.5m per season and his current deal runs out in June 2027. Napoli didn’t offer him a new deal after their title-winning campaign in 2022-23 so they will surely make their proposal in the coming days.
The agents of a number of high-profile squad members at La Liga giants Barcelona have recently made contact with president Joan Laporta.
As much comes in a bid to make clear their frustrations with Barca head coach Xavi.
The name of tactician Xavi has of course taken its place front and centre in the headlines across all of Spain over the course of recent days.
Only some weeks after Laporta convinced Xavi Hernandez to go back on his word and continue as the Barcelona head coach for the next season, the latter’s position at the Catalan club’s bench is once again subject to a lot of uncertainty.
As a result, speculation about who will replace Xavi on the bench is already rife. Previously, Hansi Flick and Rafa Marquez were considered to be the favorites for this position, while Marcelo Gallardo was also being seen as a possible option.
Yesterday, Roberto de Zerbi, who was previously also being considered as a replacement for Xavi, also terminated his contract with Brighton and Hove Albion by mutual consent. His being free also makes him a highly attractive option for FC Barcelona.
In such a scenario, Mundo Deportivo claims that the name of the Italian coach, Thiago Motta, can also be added to the list of possible replacements for Xavi, as an outsider has recommended and offered him to one of the powerful individuals at the Catalan club.
There is no doubt he can be an interesting option for Barcelona, especially keeping in view his work with Bologna this season, a team competing for third place in the Italian Serie A.
He is already being considered as a serious candidate to replace Max Allegri at Juventus, but as Motta himself made clear yesterday, nothing is finalized yet, and he has his options still open.
Barcelona will miss out on signing 17-year-old Brazilian winger Estevao Willian as Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to secure the player until 2032.
According to reporter Fabrizio Romano, Palmeiras are ready to accept Chelsea’s offer of €40 million plus an additional €25 million in potential add-ons.
Personal terms were agreed upon ten days ago with the player, and Estevao is set to join the Premier League side in 2025.
This development ends Barcelona’s pursuit of Estevao, which began last year. Barcelona had been keen on the young talent, but several factors, including the rise of Lamine Yamal and the high cost of the transfer, hindered their progress.
It is to be noted that Estevao had previously expressed his dream of playing for Barcelona, even posing with a Pedri shirt, but he will now continue his journey somewhere else.
Last month, reports indicated that Barcelona had stepped back from pursuing Estevao, largely due to the emergence of Yamal in the first team.
The Barcelona management, supported by the administration, decided against making any moves that might impede Yamal’s development.
The decision not to pursue Estevao was not primarily about the transfer cost but rather about avoiding competition for the same position between two young players of the same age.
Additionally, Palmeiras’ president Leila Pereira, who recently negotiated Endrick’s transfer to Real Madrid, was not interested in negotiating further.
Given this stance, Barcelona chose not to invest in Estevao, who would only arrive in 2025 and instead allocated their resources to strengthening other areas of the team.
This strategic decision reflects Barcelona’s focus on nurturing their existing talents and making prudent financial choices for the club’s future.
As for Estevao, he will join the Premier League side in 2025 once he turns 18.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Marcelo Gallardo is the subject of interest from Barcelona. The Catalan giants are scouring the market for a new manager heading into the summer amid uncertainties surrounding the future of Xavi Hernandez. The former Spanish international faces an uncertain future at the club after some of his recent comments.
The Xavi Hernandez saga is slowly turning Barcelona into a laughing stock in the footballing world. The 44-year-old announced his departure from the club in January, citing reasons that intensified his frustrations behind the scenes. A couple of months later, Xavi reversed his decision, with Joan Laporta and Deco coaxing him to continue beyond the season.
So, the Catalan giants have returned to the market for a new manager after calling off their search a few weeks ago. Several managers were on Barcelona’s radar in the first few months of 2024, including Rafael Marquez and Hansi Flick. Those two tacticians remain on their wishlist. But another candidate has emerged as a target for Barcelona: Marcelo Gallardo.
Marcelo Gallardo has been one of the most revered young coaches in the world in the last half a decade. The Argentine tactician saw his stock soar during his stint with River Plate, guiding the club to multiple honours. However, since ending his spell with River Plate, he has endured instability in the managerial world.
The 48-year-old joined Al-Ittihad in November 2023 after the departure of Nuno Espirito Santo but has already left the club due to some poor results and conflicts behind the scenes. So, Gallardo is on the market again, emerging on the radar of long-term suitor Barcelona.
With Gallardo available for a transfer, it will not be surprising to see him finally join Barcelona after years of courting. However, it all depends on Xavi’s future at the Catalan club, with the former Spanish international insisting he is not going anywhere.
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La Liga outfit Barcelona have on Saturday been afforded a timely boost on the personnel front.
This comes amid confirmation that a headline member of the club’s defensive ranks has been spotted back in training alongside the rest of Xavi’s squad.
The player in question? Ronald Araújo.
Stopper Araújo, for his part, was forced to sit out each of Barcelona’s last two outings.
As much comes owing to a knee issue, which boss Xavi earlier this week described as little more than a ‘small, unimportant annoyance’.
Nevertheless, upon the Blaugrana’s stars marking their return to training on Friday morning, the Uruguayan was nowhere to be seen.
Ahead of Sunday’s La Liga meeting with Rayo Vallecano, Araújo, in turn, was labelled a serious doubt once more.
Those of a Barca persuasion desperate to see their side’s defensive stalwart back on the pitch before the season is out, though, need not fret.
This comes amid confirmation on the part of Mundo Deportivo that, this morning, Araújo linked back up with his teammates at The Ciutat Esportiva.
In a recent report, Fichajes mentioned that Barcelona are facing tough competition for Girona full-back Yan Couto, who is currently playing on loan from Manchester City. It has been stated that the Catalan club would have to rival Arsenal and Manchester United in the race to land the Brazilian defender this summer.
Couto has enjoyed a decent loan spell at the Spanish club after putting in a run of impressive displays on the right side of their backline. The Brazilian talent has been involved in 38 matches for Girona this season, netting two goals and picking up ten assists in all competitions.
The 21-year-old has caught the eye at times on the right flank as he is averaging 1.3 tackles, 0.5 clearances, 0.9 shots, 0.8 key passes and 1.4 dribbles per game in La Liga. He has even been accurate when distributing possession after completing 82.3% of his attempted passes in the top tier of Spanish football (stats via whoscored).
His current contract at his parent club Manchester City will expire at the end of next season which could open the door for Barcelona to sign him on the cheap later this summer.
Couto loves a tackle and doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when required. He is a decent dribbler with the ball at his feet and can create a few promising chances for his teammates to find the back of the net. The Brazilian sensation can even shoot the ball with power and precision from long range and can chip in by scoring and creating a handful of important goals for his team from the right flank.
Couto mainly operates as a right-back but can also play as a right-sided wide player if asked to do so. We can expect someone with his skillset and versatility to enhance the quality of Barcelona head coach Xavi’s match-day squad.
At 21, Couto has the potential to be a future star in Spanish football as long as he continues to develop with each year. Hence, he would be well worth the fight, so the Catalan club should focus on stepping up their efforts to land him at the end of this campaign.
An update on the plans of Spanish national team head coach Luis de la Fuente to make use of Barcelona star Pedri has on Saturday been forthcoming.
As much comes, for those who may have missed it, after Pedri’s participation at the upcoming European Championships was this week called into question.
Owing to a combination of lack of form, and fitness woes on the part of the 21-year-old, it was suggested by sources in the media that Pedri could be overlooked for Spain’s squad for Euro 2024.
And, in his response, Spain’s headmaster moved to quell any potential fears on Pedri’s part.
Though he did not state outright that the midfielder will be included in his squad for this summer’s headline tournament, De la Fuente made use of the opportunity to heap praise on the Barcelona talent:
“He can appear at any time because he has a lot of talent and is a great player.”
Alluding directly to Pedri’s ongoing fitness problems, La Roja’s boss then added:
“There are players who may not be able to play three or four games in a row at a very high pace, but they are able to play 20 exceptional minutes in each of them. And that is already a reason to be selectable.”