Barcelona closed the summer transfer window last Tuesday with the signing of five players. The sporting director, Deco, knows exactly how the “financial fair play” situation stands after adding these reinforcements, taking into account the gap left by the departing players, who had also occupied a significant portion of the wage bill, as in the cases of Lewandowski, Rashford and Ferran Torres.
With that chapter closed, the sporting management have turned their attention to tying down their key men, according to the Spanish newspaper “Marca”.
Barcelona did not want to open renewal talks while the window remained ajar. Every ounce of effort at that point went into hunting down new players and arranging the departures they expected.
Now the window has shut, the time for renewals begins. Three names top the list: Marc Bernal, Hamza Abdelkarim and Xavi Espart.
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Contacts over Marc Bernal have already begun. Deco met the player’s agent last August, straight after the club signed Rodri.
The meeting served two purposes. First, to make clear that the arrival of the Spain captain would not hinder Bernal’s progress, because Barca’s trust in him runs extremely high. Second, to table an offer to improve and extend his deal.
The club want to stretch the contract, currently running until 2029, by a further two years. They will also improve his financial terms in light of the excellent form the player is delivering.
Barcelona want no surprises with Bernal. They know plenty of clubs are ready to pay huge sums for his services, drawn by both his technical quality and his youth.
“Rocket-like development”
Hamza Abdelkarim is another urgent case. The Egyptian forward’s development has been rocket-like. At the end of last season, Barcelona activated the buy option for 1.5 million euros, after the forward earned a place in Egypt’s World Cup squad.
In the United States, he played a few minutes and left a very good impression, according to “Marca”, and during pre-season with Barcelona he finished as the team’s top scorer.
His current release clause of 15 million euros has clearly become outdated on the back of this surge. Deco will therefore work to improve the forward’s contract and raise the clause to 150 million euros.
Barcelona want to tie the Egyptian more closely to the club, and to see the role he plays with the team this season. He is competing with some of the best players in the world, and the signing of Gabriel Jesus does not work in his favour.
Xavi Espart completes the trio Barcelona want to renew. The academy graduate has become one of the biggest surprises of pre-season and the opening league matches, settling into the left-back slot.
The Catalan club will improve his terms in recognition of the level he is showing. His current deal expires in 2028, so the renewal cannot wait long.
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