La Liga giants FC Barcelona are reportedly planning next season without their four captains: Sergio Busquets, Gerrard Pique, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba.
When Xavi Hernandez was brought in as the new manager of FC Barcelona, he made a lot of changes to the Barcelona setup. The former Barcelona player demanded quality signings from Laporta to bring Barcelona back to its former glory.
The management of Laporta and Barcelona showed great intention in the summer window and secured almost all of Xavi Hernández’s goals. The summer signings began to click within a few days.
As a result, Barcelona won eight of their first ten league games. He accumulated twenty-five points in these ten games and is second, three points behind Real Madrid, current champion. They have decent depth in most positions and this is the main reason for Barcelona’s good start.
Barcelona to fire the captains
Now Barcelona wants to add more players in the coming windows. But before that, they will have to get rid of some first. And curiously, it is the captains who will be released to make way for the new blood.
Sergio Busquets is currently the only Barcelona captain who has managed to get regular playing time throughout the season. But his contract is coming to an end next summer. And it has been understood that he is considering leaving the club.
Then there is Sergi Roberto, who signed a one-year deal earlier this summer. But it seems that he will not get another contract renewal when the current one expires.
Gerrard Piqué has become the sixth Blaugrana central defender. He had a chance to move up the pecking order when most defenders were injured. But he had a poor performance against Inter Milan in a crucial game that almost eliminated them from the Champions League.
Then there is Jordi Alba, who has become a third option left-back for the Blaugrana. Barcelona even accepted a transfer offer from Inter Milan at the start of the season, which shows their motive.
Unlike Busi and Roberto, Alba and Pique’s contract runs beyond 2023. But their huge salaries are a big problem for Barcelona, which has struggled financially in recent seasons.
Getting rid of them will give them a break on the salary cap. But first they will have to reach an agreement with Alba and Piqué.
It’s a fragile situation for Xavi’s team but that’s how it has been in the last two seasons. That is why Laporta is prepared to make the difficult decisions.
