Author name: admink

In a massive revelation made by journalist Ferran Martinez, while writing for Mundo Deportivo, it has been learned that Real Betis are ready to raid Barcelona for five players, namely Alex Collado, Arnau Tenas, Pablo Torre, Nico Gonzalez, and Ez Abde.

Barcelona’s good relationship with Ramon Planes has been explained to be the primary reason why Betis are lurking to sign the Catalan club’s talents. Planes, who worked with Barça until last summer, wants to facilitate the transfers as he understands the aforementioned players are more or less out of Xavi’s plans.

Alex Collado, to begin with, has been in talks with Barcelona over an exit for a long time now. The midfielder is expected to leave the team on a free transfer and the club will keep a percentage of the future sale. Right now, Collado’s move to Betis has been accelerated, but it won’t be made official anytime soon.

As far as Tenas is concerned, it is learned that Betis have already established contacts with the player’s agent, Ivan de la Pena, after his Barcelona contract expired on June 30. The Catalans are trying to offer him a new deal, with Xavi and Joan Laporta keen to retain him.

But, right now, the player wants to concentrate on the UEFA European U-21 Championship but since Betis know he has other offers on the table, they are working on the move.

For Pablo Torre, a loan exit is highly anticipated as the 20-year-old will struggle for game time in the 2023-24 season. The player had made peace with the fact that he has to accept a proposal to go on loan to get minutes under his belt in the first division and Real Betis are keen.

While there are offers from Celta Vigo, Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Valencia, Betis happen to be the best team mostly because their style of play goes hand in hand with Torre’s game. At the moment, he wants to finish the pre-season with Barcelona but regardless of that, a temporary exit will be on the cards.

Finally, the case with Abde and Nico is very much similar. Now, Betis have already made loan moves for the duo but as MD reports, the final decision rests with Xavi. For the moment, the two are expected to make the pre-season squad but a decision will be taken soon.

In a massive revelation made by journalist Ferran Martinez, while writing for Mundo Deportivo, it has been learned that Real Betis are ready to raid Barcelona for five players, namely Alex Collado, Arnau Tenas, Pablo Torre, Nico Gonzalez, and Ez Abde.

Barcelona’s good relationship with Ramon Planes has been explained to be the primary reason why Betis are lurking to sign the Catalan club’s talents. Planes, who worked with Barça until last summer, wants to facilitate the transfers as he understands the aforementioned players are more or less out of Xavi’s plans.

Alex Collado, to begin with, has been in talks with Barcelona over an exit for a long time now. The midfielder is expected to leave the team on a free transfer and the club will keep a percentage of the future sale. Right now, Collado’s move to Betis has been accelerated, but it won’t be made official anytime soon.

As far as Tenas is concerned, it is learned that Betis have already established contacts with the player’s agent, Ivan de la Pena, after his Barcelona contract expired on June 30. The Catalans are trying to offer him a new deal, with Xavi and Joan Laporta keen to retain him.

But, right now, the player wants to concentrate on the UEFA European U-21 Championship but since Betis know he has other offers on the table, they are working on the move.

For Pablo Torre, a loan exit is highly anticipated as the 20-year-old will struggle for game time in the 2023-24 season. The player had made peace with the fact that he has to accept a proposal to go on loan to get minutes under his belt in the first division and Real Betis are keen.

While there are offers from Celta Vigo, Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Valencia, Betis happen to be the best team mostly because their style of play goes hand in hand with Torre’s game. At the moment, he wants to finish the pre-season with Barcelona but regardless of that, a temporary exit will be on the cards.

Finally, the case with Abde and Nico is very much similar. Now, Betis have already made loan moves for the duo but as MD reports, the final decision rests with Xavi. For the moment, the two are expected to make the pre-season squad but a decision will be taken soon.

As reported earlier today, Barcelona will go after the signing of a new right-back this summer. And, at the moment, Real Valladolid starlet Ivan Fresneda appears to be the name heading the shortlist for the La Liga champions.

The 18-year-old enjoyed a solid debut season in La Liga with Real Valladolid in 2022/23, despite his club ending up getting relegated. And now, the Blaugrana regard him as a cost-effective reinforcement for the right-back position.

Fresneda has a release clause in his contract with the Pucela worth €20 million. But given the Blaugrana’s financial situation, they cannot offer more than €10 million to sign the teenage right-back.

Now, though, Barcelona may have received a boost in their pursuit of Fresneda as Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo reports that Real Valladolid would be open to accepting an offer worth €10 million plus variables for the right-back despite the €20 million exit clause.

However, Fresneda is not being courted by Barcelona alone as clubs like Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, and Arsenal are also keeping tabs on him.

But the Blaugrana have notified the teenager of their interest in him and have asked him to wait given their Financial Fair Play situation. And the player is willing to wait for the La Liga champions to make their move.

Barcelona director Deco met with Fresneda’s agent earlier today at Hotel Sofia to lay the groundwork for the operation. But there is still a lot of work to be done for the deal to be finalised.

A fee of €10 million plus variables should make Fresneda affordable for Barcelona, although they would still need to make some sales in order to create room on the wage bill to ensure his successful registration.

Ousmane Dembele professed his desire to continue playing at Barcelona last week, when his agent met Barcelona director Deco, confirming that the player has no wish to activate his release clause this summer.

Dembele has a €50 million release clause embedded in his contract, which can be activated this month. But the forward remains keen on continuing at Barcelona after enjoying immense success under the leadership of Xavi Hernandez.

The two parties are now set to take the relationship a step further, as they advanced negotiations over a renewal. This has been reported by Mundo Deportivo, which suggests Barcelona have made positive steps in their bid to keep hold of Dembele.

The former Borussia Dortmund starlet’s current deal at Camp Nou expires in the summer of 2024. But the report suggests the two parties are exchanging proposals, seeking an agreement that will guarantee the player’s stay at Barcelona until 2027.

Dembele will turn 30 by the time, with Barça also open to the possibility of adding an optional one-year extension into the potential new deal.

The French international is aware of Barça’s poor economic situation, which has crippled the club’s powers in the transfer market. But the two parties are hopeful they can settle for an agreement that will satisfy all parties involved.

Barcelona are likely to focus on a formula of a lower salary for Dembele. But they will offer high incentives and bonuses to the player, based on his performances at Camp Nou in the years to come.

In addition to the bonuses, there is also a prospect of captaining Barcelona, which may appeal to Dembele. With Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets leaving the club, Dembele is one of the candidates to take up the role of captaincy, as he is one of the most experienced players in the first-team.

Meanwhile, Dembele’s potential extension could serve as a major blow for Paris Saint-Germain, who were hoping to trigger Dembele’s €50 million release clause this summer.

Barcelona’s transfer plans for the summer have not hit top gear owing to the club’s inability to offload unwanted players. Even though Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez have signed, their registrations cannot take place until there are exits.

Likewise, more players cannot be brought in until the La Liga champions get rid of some of the deadwood from the squad.

One such player who is not in manager Xavi Hernandez’s plans, according to Mundo Deportivo, and is up for sale this summer is Ferran Torres. However, the 23-year-old attacker does not want to leave the club, making things tricky for Barcelona.

Torres has been at the club for 18 months but has failed to hit the heights expected after the Catalans invested €55 million in his signing from Manchester City.

The Spanish international has shown signs of potential but has not been consistent enough and fell down the pecking order behind Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha, and Ansu Fati, who is also being linked with an exit.

Barcelona, thus, are keen to get rid of Torres so that his sale would lower the salary mass and generate revenue, allowing them to register the signing of Vitor Roque.

The Blaugrana are also understood to be seeking around €40 million for Torres and there is interest in his services from the Premier League.

Some reports have even suggested that the 23-year-old already has a couple of offers from England, but he is reluctant to accept them as he wishes to stay put at Barcelona.

As things stand, Torres will join the rest of the team for pre-season and it remains to be seen if the Catalans will be able to convince him to leave the club in the coming weeks.

Eric Garcia has been linked with a summer exit from FC Barcelona owing to the increased competition in the defensive ranks and the club’s need to shed wages and generate revenue.

However, according to a report from Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo, the 22-year-old Spaniard has no plans of leaving Barça this summer and is very happy at the club despite his current predicament.

Garcia joined Barcelona in the summer of 2021, arriving as a free agent after his contract at Manchester City expired. However, he has been unable to nail down a regular spot in the starting XI at the club especially after Xavi took over the reins as manager.

Last season, Garcia found himself behind Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, and at times even Marcos Alonso in the pecking order of things at Barça.

Now with the La Liga champions further strengthening their ranks with the addition of Inigo Martinez, Garcia’s game-time is likely to take a further hit.

With the club needing to trim their salary mass, they were said to be open to offloading Garcia, with Real Betis taking a keen interest. The defender is also attracting suitors from the Premier League as well.

However, the Spaniard is prepared to reject all those advances as he prefers to stay at Barcelona and succeed at the club even though game-time will be hard to come by next season.

Garcia is said to be happy at Barcelona and would welcome the chance to continue even if it would mean that Xavi will use him as a defensive midfielder, like he did towards the end of the last season.

The report states that the technical staff at the club continue to value Garcia not just because of his abilities on the pitch but also due to his professionalism, his quality to be a team player, and a leader for the youngsters.

As such, even though the sports management department might be open to selling him, the technical staff would be happy to have Garcia around and Xavi plans to give him minutes as a defensive midfielder next season.

While it has been public knowledge for months, Barcelona have officially confirmed that they have signed Inigo Martinez on a free transfer.

The 32-year-old had been on Barça’s radar since last summer when a move was considered for him as an alternative if Jules Kounde did not arrive. But with the Frenchman joining, Martinez’s signing did not progress.

However, the Catalans continued to hold an interest in the Spaniard, especially knowing that his contract with Athletic Club was due to expire.

As such, negotiations took place and a verbal agreement was secured in April according to reports in the media. Martinez completed his medical with the Catalans last month and was spotted at the club’s training facilities on Tuesday participating in a photo session.

Now, the club have officially confirmed his arrival, with Martinez signing a two-year contract with the La Liga champions. He will have a release clause worth €400 million in his deal.

A player with vast experience in La Liga, having made over 350 appearances for Real Sociedad and Athletic Club combined, Martinez will bring a lot of value to the team due to his leadership and know-how.

At the same time, he provides manager Xavi with a left-footed centre-back option – something that had been lacking in the squad.

The Spanish international becomes Barcelona’s second signing of the summer, after the arrival of Ilkay Gundogan, who also signed on a free transfer and penned a two-year deal with an option of an additional twelve months.

The transfer activity is far from done at Barça, although they must now make some sales for them to be able to register the new signings.

Despite their awkward standing in Major League Soccer, Inter Miami have been surely punching above its weight when it comes to the transfer market.

The MLS outfit completed by far the biggest acquisition in North American footballing history by roping in Lionel Messi earlier in the summer. That was followed by the signing of Sergio Busquets, who joins the club on a free transfer.

Several reports have linked Inter Miami with a move for another ex-Barcelona great, Jordi Alba. The veteran fullback has become a free agent this summer after he decided to mutually terminate his contract at Camp Nou.

Inter Miami, though, have more ideas. It appears the MLS giants, partly and quite ironically owned by former Real Madrid superstar David Beckham, now want to sign another revered Barcelona icon, reports RAC1.

The player in question is none other than Andres Iniesta. RAC1 reports the veteran has received an offer from Inter Miami, effectively giving him an opportunity to reunite with Messi and Busquets – a prospect that was quite unthinkable for many not more than a few years ago.

Iniesta ended his five-year-long association with Vissel Kobe recently, at the age of 39. But he has shown no signs of stopping. His situation has not gone unnoticed either, with Inter Miami ready to snap him this summer.

Apart from the MLS outfit, Iniesta has received offers from Saudi Arabia as well – a much more lucrative one presumably. The player has remained quiet about his future, though he is set to make a decision in the coming days.

With Alba and Iniesta potentially joining the ranks, there is no doubt which club Barcelona fans will be supporting in the upcoming edition of MLS.

Since the club’s inception, Barcelona have been home to some of Brazil’s finest footballers. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Neymar Jr are just some of the innumerable stars from the football-worshipping nation to have graced the garnet-and-blue colours.

Raphinha is the latest on the long list of Brazilian forwards in Catalonia. However, with Barcelona targetting Vitor Roque as their next big signing, there could be more Samba in the squad next season.

Earlier today, Raphinha spoke to SPORT about Barcelona’s latest transfer target and had nothing but praise for the Atletico Paranaense star’s quality on the field.

“With Vitor Roque, we’re talking about a high-quality footballer, who is showing in Brazil why Barcelona is interested in him and also the Brazilian team.”

In 13 Brasileiro Serie A appearances for his club this season, the 18-year-old has scored seven goals and provided two assists. Raphinha spoke highly of his potential and called the sky the limit for it.

“There is nothing fairer than talking about a great footballer like him, with great projection, a player who has a lot to give. I think he can go a long way in world football.”

Finally, the Blaugrana star highlighted how Roque’s arrival would impact not only the team but also his play on an individual level come next season.

“Roque would help Barça a lot, and also me, who plays on the wing.”

While Barcelona have an agreement in principle over a €45 million move to the club, his registration at the moment appears complicated unless the Catalans make a major player sale.

Joan Laporta recently confirmed that work was in progress with regard to Roque’s arrival and the coming weeks will be critical in that regard.

If the teenager arrives in time for the 2023-24 campaign, he would play as a backup option to Robert Lewandowski. However, his prominence will likely grow as the season progresses.

Talking about whether Roque would replace Lewandowski in the time right away, Raphinha said: “Robert still has a lot of football to give. He had a great season in his first year at Barça, he was the striker of La Liga and if he didn’t score more goals it was only due to lack of luck.”

On the impact Lewandowski has had in his first season at the club, Raphinha added: “What pleasantly surprised me about Lewandowski is to see, after everything he has achieved, his desire to win even more, to win more titles, and to always gives his maximum.”

In a major development, Gerard Romero is reporting that Franck Kessie is ready to leave FC Barcelona this summer after manager Xavi Hernandez called and spoke to the midfielder.

Kessie joined Barcelona only last summer, arriving as a free agent after his contract with AC Milan had run down. The 26-year-old did not have it easy in his first year at the club though as regular game-time was very hard to come by for him.

Given that Pedri, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, and Gavi were all ahead of him in the pecking order, the Ivory Coast international had to settle for rare starts and appearances off the bench.

It has led to a lot of speculations over his future, more so with Barça needing to make some quickfire sales. As such, Kessie has been heavily linked with an exit, but the midfielder, until now, has not appeared too keen to leave the club just a year after leaving.

However, that seems to have changed now, with Romero reporting that Kessie is now willing to consider an exit from Barcelona. It is suggested that manager Xavi called and spoke to the 26-year-old which may have played a part in convincing him.

Kessie is understood to have told that he is very grateful to the club and is now prepared to leave.

Barcelona are hoping to get at least €30 million from his sale this summer. And the former AC Milan ace is attracting some serious interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia, Al Ahli in particular.

Indeed, the Middle East outfit are willing to double his current salary should he make the switch although it might take a bigger offer for him to consider a move to Asia at this stage in his career.