Barcelona, with a first-team squad of 32 players, urgently need to clear deadwood | OneFootball

Icon: Football Espana

Football Espana

·25 June 2021

Barcelona, with a first-team squad of 32 players, urgently need to clear deadwood

Article image:Barcelona, with a first-team squad of 32 players, urgently need to clear deadwood

With just over two weeks to go until Barcelona return for pre-season, there’s still several outgoings that need to be finalised to lighten the load at Camp Nou according to Mundo Deportivo.

Joan Laporta has moved swiftly to bring in Eric Garcia, Emerson, Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero, and are on the verge – they hope – of confirming Lionel Messi’s continuity. Including the Argentine, their first-team squad consists of 32 footballers.


OneFootball Videos


Article image:Barcelona, with a first-team squad of 32 players, urgently need to clear deadwood

That’s not a sustainable figure. The limit for La Liga is 25, and salary constraints mean that they’re going to need to shift a considerable amount of deadwood before the new season begins.

Jean-Clair Todibo looks close to sealing a move to Nice, while the futures of Carles Alena and Moussa Wague look uncertain. An important tool this summer, given the financial realities of a post-Coronavirus world, could be trades.

Article image:Barcelona, with a first-team squad of 32 players, urgently need to clear deadwood

There’s been talk about Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele heading to Barcelona in exchange for any – or several – of Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Riyadh Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte, although Dembele’s recent injury threatens that idea.

Inter have also been mentioned; they’re interested in Emerson and Jordi Alba, while Alessandro Baston, Lautaro Martinez, Marcelo Brozovic and Milan Skriniar are of interest to Barcelona. Martin Braithwaite is also attracting attention.

View publisher imprint