Xavi must make ruthless decision on 8 Barcelona stars as new financial information emerges
Just over one week remains until Barcelona's season gets underway but they must process multiple more player exits ahead of kick-off to reduce their first-team squad ( Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images) Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez must ruthlessly cut eight players from his first-team squad before the start of the new season next week. The Catalan club have allowed defender Clement Lenglet to join Tottenham on a season-long loan while they did not extend the short-term contract of Dani Alves, who is now a free agent. Philippe Coutinho has joined Aston Villa in a permanent deal while Adama Traore and Luuk de Jong have both finalised their loan spells at Camp Nou. Midfielder Riqui Puig has also left the club to join Los Angeles Galaxy, defender Oscar Mingueza has joined Celta Vigo as a free agent and Francisco Trincao – who spent last season at Wolves – has now joined Portuguese club Sporting CP. Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde have all joined Barca’s ranks this summer. Those five arrivals will form part of Xavi's dream Barcelona line-up for this season, which could include up to eight new signings, but more first-team squad exits are needed if the majority of those deals are to come to fruition. Barca currently have a 33-player first-team squad, yet they are only allowed to register 25 of those players with authorities. That is not taking into the account the possibility of more arrivals, with the likes of Marcos Alonso and Bernardo Silva still on their radar. The squad has four goalkeepers; Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Iñaki Peña and Neto plus a fourth, Arnau Tenas – with Neto open to leaving the club, amid links to Bournemouth. There are nine defenders on their books – Sergino Dest, Gerard Piqué, Ronald Araujo, Jordi Alba, Samuel Umtiti, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen, Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde, who could play for the reserve team. They are also hopeful of signing two more defenders; with the futures of Dest and Umtiti most at risk. Have Your Say! Are Barcelona contenders to win the Champions League this season? Tell us what you think here. Frenkie de Jong's future under Xavi at Barcelona remains unclear ( Image: Getty Images) The numbers in midfielder are similarly bloated – Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Nico Gonzalez, Sergi Roberto, Frenkie de Jong, Franck Kessie, Gavi, Pablo Torre, Miralem Pjanic and Alex Collado; the latter two they will push to move on while the future of De Jong remains shrouded in mystery. The attack has Ousmane Dembélé, Memphis Depay, Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres, Martin Braithwaite, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Abde – the club are hopeful that both Memphis and Braithwaite, while even Aubameyang may move on should a suitable offer come in for the Gabonese forward. Furthermore, the club needs to reduce its overall wage bill by €160million – it currently stands at €560million, with a need to bring this down to €400million. A busy few weeks lie ahead at the Camp Nou. Read More Read More
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