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| Samuel Umtiti during the match between FC Barcelona and Getafe CF, corresponding to the week 3 of the Liga Santander, played at the Camp Nou Stadium, on 29th August 2021, in Barcelona, Spain. |
The former midfielder had no remorse in telling all
these players to seek for employment elsewhere after their poor contribution to
the team last season.
Barcelona fans are quite aware of their team’s
economic problems, and with that in mind, it should come as no surprise that
the former footballer wants to help his employers by letting some of the
players within the squad leave so they can leave something for the club to
spend before their contracts expire.
That being said, the Blaugrana skipper spoke with
four players to slap them with an ugly truth: they have been deemed surplus to
the team’s requirements. Now, all of them have to search for another club
before the start of the next season or they could risk having their contracts
terminated by the Catalan side.
The players in question are Samuel Umtiti, Martin
Braithwaite, and homegrown footballers Oscar Mingueza and Riqui Puig. All of
them have different transfer scenarios, but the main thing for Los Culés is to
send them packing before the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Umtiti, 2018 FIFA World Cup champion with France,
seems ready to go back to France after a number of injuries prevented him from
showing his best form. Rennes, Olympique Lyon, and even the recently promoted
Girona have been named as potential landing spots for the defender, who signed
a contract extension back in January with a massive reduction to his wages so
the team could register Ferrán Torres. Umtiti seems keen on returning to Lyon,
his boyhood club, but Rennes’ offer seems to be better at this point.
Braithwaite’s future seems to be far away from the
Blaugrana discipline since last season, when he was only kept around after Ansu
Fati’s injury. The Danish footballer was only able to play five games last
season, and to add insult to his stay at Camp Nou Stadium, he has only been
able to score ten goals in 56 matches. The player wants to stay, but Xavi has
made it clear to him that his future lies elsewhere.
Regarding Mingueza and Puig, the homegrown duo only
played fourteen and twelve games last season, and they were reportedly told by
Xavi not to make it to the team’s preseason. Both of them will see the end of
their deal next season, and the club seems keen on making money out of
potential deals for them now than losing them on a free transfer next summer.
That being said, Barcelona will continue struggling
to configurate their squad for the upcoming season, especially if the club
cannot find a way to balance their financial statements to comply with La
Liga’s rules regarding their income sources.
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