Barcelona overtake Real Madrid in race for Spanish midfield talent – report | OneFootball

Given the fact that young midfielder Gabri Veiga will not continue at Celta Vigo beyond the ongoing season, the 21-year-old has caused Barcelona to go head-to-head with Real Madrid for his acquisition.

According to what Manuel de Juan has written for AS, Celta will not stand in the way of the midfielder in the summer and he can leave the team in exchange for his €40 million release clause.

At the moment, the player has attracted interest from Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Juan claims that none of these doors are closed right now.

The journalist also claims that in Spain, Barcelona continue to have the weight ahead of Real Madrid because he knows that if he joins Xavi at Barça, his options to start as a starter will be greater than at Madrid.

So for now, the midfielder is waiting to see if the team from Catalonia can make room for him amidst the troubled economy of the team.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, will have no problem in paying the fee but they are willing to play the waiting game as well.

The team is currently working on bringing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund and once that is done, Veiga’s arrival at Santiago Bernabeu will depend on the number of departures the team will sanction as they already have plenty of midfielders to choose from.

So if someone like say Dani Ceballos leaves, there will be room. Although it would not guarantee him a place in the starting XI, he will be the first choice from the bench.

It is believed that despite the options at hand, the 21-year-old midfielder is not really pondering the option of going abroad. So if Barcelona and Madrid remain the only two teams in the race, expect the youngster to pick the former.