Araujo, De Jong and Pedri and the three untouchable players at Barcelona
Barça may have to make a big sale this summer but it won't be one of those three
This summer promises to be a busy one for Barcelona. Perhaps not as busy as last summer, when the reshuffling of the squad led to an unusual number of operations in the market, but it will be interesting. The open war with LaLiga over numerous episodes could provoke a delicate situation with the salary limit of the new sporting project.
If it is true that Barça must reduce their current outgoings by €200 million, the club may be forced to cross lines it would not wish to cross with some transfers.
The board has initiated a savings plan that will affect many areas and sections of the club, but the main focus will be on renegotiating salaries and selling players to earn as much as possible. The president, Joan Laporta, has always made it clear that he will try to sell players who don't get many minutes and you don't have to be very clever to pinpoint the chosen ones, although at Barça they are not sure if it will be enough with what they can get from these sales.
The sporting department has carried out a market study of the entire squad. And they already sense that a lot of money could be made from some players if necessary in a moment of absolute desperation. But there are three players, who for many reasons, will not be sold under any circumstances. They are Ronald Araujo, Pedri and, curiously, Frenkie de Jong, a player who was in the limelight a few months ago, but who decided to stay and put the brakes on any operation.
It is clear that Barça are not thinking of negotiating anything for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi, Alex Balde, if he renews, or other players such as Jules Koundé, Raphinha or Robert Lewandowski, for whom there is still a lot of money to be made. And, of course, Xavi does not want to lose players like Andreas Christensen or Franck Kessié, despite the fact that they have offers on the table. The director of football, Mateu Alemany, will have to reach a consensus on decisions while waiting for LaLiga's limit and for a multi-million euro offer to appear for players who are not regulars.
At the moment, some decisions have already been taken and everything points to a revolution in attacking positions, provided that some of the players who have already been identified agree to leave. From there, the big question will be whether Barça will need to close a transfer for a first-choice player. And the shots would point towards players who would leave a significant net profit or players with excessive salaries that the Blaugrana will not be able to pay. The game starts now and the objective is to sell before buying, although it will also be necessary to strengthen in order to continue to excite.
