Barcelona are known to be in a difficult financial situation with a number of their players forced to have their salaries reduced in the last couple of months. With former captain Xavi Hernandez in charge of the team, they’re trying to rebuild the squad and make at competitive at the very top of the game again, but it’s certainly not an easy job under the circumstances.
Gavi and Ronald Araujo have both emerged as quality options for Xavi this season. The 17-year-old midfielder and the 23-year-old centre-back have been putting in fine performances, imposing themselves as potentially important parts of the club’s plans for the future. With that in mind, Barcelona are understandably keen to tie both players to new long-term contracts, with their current ones expiring in the summer of 2023.
However, the latest report on the club’s efforts to get this done, coming from Catalan outlet Sport, suggests that they’re facing a difficult task again. Apparently, both Gavi and Araujo have offers from elsewhere and their agents demand that Barcelona match those if they’re serious about having these players in their ranks for years to come.
But as things stand, Barcelona have no intention of being pushed into paying more than they feel they can afford. The message from the club is clear – any player whose contract is up soon will only stay under their terms, and no other way.
Liverpool are said to be monitoring the progress of Gavi, while Manchester United view Araujo as an attractive prospect.
