Barça in no rush to sell young Spanish full-back Álex Balde as offers begin to flow in
The Catalans are close to an agreement to renew his contract until 2027 and are manoeuvring him to sign the new deal
Barça and Álex Balde have practically reached an agreement to renew his contract until 2027 with a significant salary increase and a termination clause of 500 million euros.
The only hindrance is registering the new contract as the club has already exhausted the salary limit.
They have asked Balde for patience, but both he and his entourage hope that the increase will be effective now because he wants to stay.
Balde's stock has gone through the roof.
Xavi Hernandez's total commitment to the left-back has taken him all the way to the World Cup and Barça pushed quickly to extend his contract, which expires in 2024.
The deal has been relatively straightforward as Balde will move up the wage scale to Gavi or Araujo, but the problem is for La Liga to give the OK for it to be effective from January with the new figures.
Araujo is also awaiting this step to make his improved conditions official and the club is working towards it.
During Balde's renewal, the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, warned the club that he could have very important offers from the Premier League and that, in the case of need, Barça could get a high economic return.
Both the club and Balde have rejected that possibility because the aim is for him to be a key figure at Camp Nou for many years to come.
The fact that the contract cannot be signed could affect him though, as Balde is currently one of the players with the lowest salary in the squad despite being an undisputed starter.
Barça believe that his case, like that of Araujo, will be resolved soon, as well as the prospect of giving Gavi the first-team number.
These three moves will leave Barça with practically no option to reinforce the team in January with a signing unless there is an unexpected big-money sale.
