Newsletter

Xavi Hernández wants to renew Sergi Roberto and the Reusense wants to continue at Barça to be the first captain

BarcelonaThe Barça dressing room may experience a massive change of captaincy in just 12 months. With Gerard Piqué already out of the team and Sergio Busquets almost determined to embark on an adventure in American football when his contract ends on June 30, Sergi Roberto, third captain of the current Blaugrana squad, can move up two positions from of June 30.

This has been confirmed by the ARA through several witnesses, who state that Reus prioritizes continuing the discipline of Xavi Hernández and postponing new professional adventures “until one or two years from now”. He has a contract in force until the end of the current season and has given instructions to his agents to renew it. However, there is still no way of negotiation open with the club with less than a month left before he can deal freely with third parties.

This desire agrees with the criteria of the Barça coaches, who have used Roberto in most of the important matches this season and have him in their plans for the next campaign. In fact, Sant Joan Despí trust that the Basque footballer will soon resolve the unknown and reach an agreement with the organization to extend his commitment as a coach. “We think he will end up renewing”, they predict from the dressing room with some optimism. There is a strong desire to retain a player who offers several functions on the pitch – it applies to the right back and also to any position in the middle of the field – but there is still no formal conversation with Mateu Alemany, responsible for the drafting of the contracts

Precisely the Balearic executive embodied the toughest position in the talks of the last few months to renew Roberto’s contract, which ended on June 30, 2022. A year ago on these dates, the footballer and his agent, Josep Maria Orobitg , paired with president Joan Laporta and vice president Rafa Yuste a renewal with a considerable cut in emoluments. But when the deal was brought to Germany’s table, the director of football adjusted it further, which meant the breakdown of the negotiation and, for the second FIFA window in a row, the impossibility of making a precious space to the wage bill to incorporate new signings.

Months later, Xavi’s insistence restarted the talks and Roberto, now yes, agreed to sign for a year – until 2023 – at a very low price, earning less than half of what his old contract stipulated. All this with the footballer in the infirmary due to an ordeal with muscle injuries, which deprived him of serious offers from other teams and, therefore, greatly reduced any negotiating weight with Barça.

New leaders in the Barça dressing room

The Reusense has put muscle injuries behind him and has been able to demonstrate during the first part of the season that he is fit to compete at the first level. He’s only had Achilles tendon problems associated with last season’s inactivity and is now recovering from a traumatic shoulder injury. His physical reliability no longer creates doubts, which could arouse the interest of other clubs. However, his priority, although he would love to play in the Premier League one day, remains to stay at Barcelona. “He wants to accumulate minutes after the injuries and, if all goes well, renew for one or two more years,” say those around him.

On the other hand, Roberto’s voice would not tremble at the possibility of becoming the first captain of the squad, an honor that belongs to him due to seniority if Busquets, as everything points to, folds after fulfilling his contract. The man from Reus, who would start his twelfth year in the first team next June, would go ahead of Jordi Alba and Marc-André ter Stegen, who if there are no surprises will be chosen fourth captain after the World Cup to cover the void left by Piqué . The German goalkeeper and Roberto have formed a pineapple in the dressing room due to age, concerns and the good relationship between their partners, and they have expanded the group with Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski. This newly minted clan opens the door to a renewal of leadership in Sant Joan Despí.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending