Villarreal star prioritising move to Barcelona | OneFootball

Villarreal standout Álex Baena has set his sights firmly on a move to La Liga rivals Barcelona.

That’s according to Diario Sport, who have this week provided an insight into the long-term wishes of the midfield creator.

Baena, for his part, has long been making a name for himself as one of the standout creative talents in La Liga.

After racking up a head-turning 18 assists across all competitions last season, the 23-year-old has since laid on a further five goals for his teammates in eight appearances in 2024/25.

Such endeavours have not gone at all unnoticed across the continent, amid mounting interest in Baena’s signature on the part of some of Europe’s leading clubs.

As alluded to above, though, the player himself, as things stand, only has one potential landing spot in mind.

As per a report from Sport:

‘His intention for now is not to leave La Cerámica, unless it is to go to Barça, which is what has motivated him to reject lucrative offers from Premier League teams, who were even willing to reach or get very close to his termination clause.’

Barcelona, for their part, maintain an interest in Baena’s signature, too, albeit with the versatile midfielder/attacker’s €60 million release clause considered a stumbling block.

Nevertheless, Deco and co. ‘have maintained contact with the player’s agent,’ with Baena ‘dreaming’ of making the move to Catalunya’s capital down the line.

Conor Laird – GSFN