{"id":71530,"date":"2026-08-17T09:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T09:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/71530\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T09:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T09:21:11","slug":"exit-bound-barcelona-midfielder-turns-down-saudi-arabia-option-as-he-eyes-top-level-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/71530\/","title":{"rendered":"Exit-bound Barcelona midfielder turns down Saudi Arabia option as he eyes top-level challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marc Casado\u2019s future appears certain to be decided away from Barcelona, but a move to Saudi Arabia is not currently part of the midfielder\u2019s preferred plan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sport.es\/es\/noticias\/barca\/giro-futuro-marc-casado-133418352\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">SPORT<\/a>, the Barcelona academy graduate is open to leaving the club but wants to remain in European football, where he believes he can continue competing at the highest level and play an important role for his next team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a result, the Saudi Arabia route suddenly becomes uncertain, despite Barcelona\u2019s interest in a financially attractive sale and continued <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-and-al-hilal-remain-apart-on-valuation-for-e40-million-rated-la-masia-product\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">efforts from Al-Hilal to sign the midfielder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Casado open to Barcelona exit but\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Barcelona sporting management is looking to accelerate departures as they attempt to clear space in the squad and improve their salary situation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"723\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/athletic-club-v-fc-barcelona-laliga-ea-sports-1-1024x723.jpg\" alt=\"Marc Casado, Barcelona player\" class=\"wp-image-200432\"  \/>Casado is reluctant to move to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Casado is among the <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-looking-to-cross-the-e100-million-mark-in-sales-this-summer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">players expected to leave<\/a>, and even the midfielder is willing to consider a departure, although he wants control over where his next move takes him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A transfer to Saudi Arabia had emerged as a possible solution, particularly because of the financial benefits it could offer Barcelona. But Casado does not appear convinced by the prospect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The midfielder\u2019s priority is to join a club where he can become an important player and work under a coach who has genuine faith in him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His preference is to remain in Europe and continue playing at a high competitive level rather than accept a move primarily driven by the size of the transfer fee.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Hilal preparing improved bid\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/real-madrid-cf-v-fc-barcelona-laliga-ea-sports-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Marc Casado of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-197879\"  \/>Al-Hilal are preparing a fresh move for Marc Casado. (Photo by Angel Martinez\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As such, Al-Hilal remain interested and are <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/al-hilal-prepare-new-offer-for-e40-million-rated-barcelona-midfielder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">preparing another attempt<\/a> to convince both Barcelona and the player.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Riyadh-based club have already made approaches worth around \u20ac30 million and are now considering an improved proposal before the transfer window closes, after knowing that Barcelona want at least \u20ac40 million for the player.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Casado has received several offers and has yet to make a final decision on his future, which has encouraged Al-Hilal to continue their pursuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the biggest obstacle may not be Barcelona\u2019s valuation, but the midfielder\u2019s desire to continue his career in Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marc Casado\u2019s future appears certain to be decided away from Barcelona, but a move to Saudi Arabia is&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,1866],"class_list":["post-71530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-marc-casado"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}