Barça’s situation is as critical as it is public, and despite President Joan Laporta’s attempts to sell an optimistic speech, there are always comments like those of Javier Tebas – president of the League – adding water to the wine and remembering how fucking the whole thing is. blaugrana. In this turmoil, negotiations to buy, transfer or renew footballers tend to end in a stalemate. And sometimes names appear on the table that are not what they would like at the Camp Nou. An example is that of Nico González.
Nico has had a first team record since January
The midfielder, the son of the legendary player Fran González (Deportivo), has been one of the positive surprises of this season. Koeman opened the doors of the first team to him and Xavi gave him continuity, to the point that in January he stopped having a B card to become a player of the big. At the age of 20, and in his debut season, he has played 37 games and scored two goals. Figures that have not gone unnoticed by many clubs. One of them, Valencia.
So far, Barça’s position has been strict: “Nico is not for sale”. In the same way that the club has agreed to sell Barça B players such as Jutglà, who has not been able to consolidate at the Camp Nou, in the case of the Galician midfielder, they believe that he has made his way to the first team. “He is a player that interests us, although he is still in the process of training,” they explain from the Sports City. Nico has a contract until 2024 and a prohibitive clause of 500 million.
Nico will stay because Barça don’t want to sell him ”
Jorge Mendes Nico’s Agent
“Nico will stay because Barça don’t want to sell him,” confirmed Jorge Mendes, the footballer’s agent, who met with the Barça sports leadership at Barcelona’s famous Via Veneto restaurant this week. This means that if there is no radical turnaround, Nico will return to Barça on July 4, the day the holidays are over for Barça players who have not had any international commitments. The forecast is that he will stay in the United States, which will also serve as a revalidation for the player. Depending on his performance, and whether he is convinced that Xavi can play a leading role, he will stay at the Camp Nou. Otherwise, an assignment will be sought. “Right now he is not seen as a starter. But being the fourth midfielder is not the same as having three or four substitutes ahead,” they admit from the offices.
Nico has a lot of competition in the middle of the Barça field
It is not a casual answer. It will be a year with competition in the middle of the field. Waiting to resolve the future of Riqui, a player who does not count for the coach, and Frenkie de Jong, who is in the shop window, Barça can have overbooking of soccer players: besides them two, it has Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Gavi, Nico and even Sergi Roberto. And to these is added Kessié, a new addition that will be made official in the coming days.
“The most important thing is that a player in training has minutes. Right now he can’t be guaranteed to have them. We’ll see after the summer,” they point out from the locker room, where they insist they “count” on him. Nico, who arrived at La Masia at the age of 11, also wants to stay. It will all depend on the preseason (and whether Laporta finally finds the economic levers).
