Barcelona president Joan Laporta has spoken out in the media to reassure fans that star midfielders Gavi and Pedri won’t be sold.
The president recently came in front of the media to speak about the club’s transfer strategy. He talked about the various targets that the team will be looking to bring in to reinforce the squad.
But it is important to remember that the Catalan club is currently facing financial miseries, and are struggling to register new players. As such, they need to sell some players in order to raise enough funds.
In recent days, speculation has risen that Barca has to sell some of their biggest and most important stars. Among those are young midfielders Gavi and Pedri who could fetch a very large sum that could help the club.
How important are Gavi and Pedri to Barcelona’s midfield?
But the President refused all the rumors and insisted that along with Pedri and Gavi, they would not sell their best players.
“We have received offers for Christensen, for Gavi, for Pedri, for Araújo, for Ter Stegen, for Ansu, for Raphinha, for Balde. But we are not a selling club. We have no intention to sell our stars.”
Barcelona president Laporta: “We have received offers for Christensen, for Gavi, for Pedri, for Araújo, for Ter Stegen, for Ansu, for Raphinha, for Balde…”. 🔵🔴 #FCB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 3, 2023
“But we are not a selling club. We have no intention to sell our stars”. pic.twitter.com/7DXKhD4LSZ
It is not surprising that the club doesn’t consider selling Pedri and Gavi. Both of the young Spaniards have been the best players in the club for the past two seasons. Pedri won the Golden Boy award in 2021 which was followed by Gavi winning it in 2022.
Pedri has become the best player in the squad after Lionel Messi’s departure. The club has suffered whenever the midfielder was due to injury. As an interior midfielder, the player has driven Barca’s attacks with his superb passing and dribbling abilities.
Meanwhile, Gavi, a La Masian graduate, played almost all of Barca’s games last season. He has helped maintain stability in the midfield and has been great in helping the team recover the ball properly.
Both of them are now so synonymous with Barcelona that selling them is just impossible.
For which position should Barcelona recruit?
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has already made it clear that he prioritizes the pivot position in the midfield. After the departure of veteran Sergio Busquets, the club will have to look for a good replacement in that position.
Barcelona has targeted some players in their search for a successor for Sergio Busquets. So far, the Catalan club has been interested in Martin Zubimendi, Joshua Kimmich, Guido Rodriguez, Sofyan Amrabat, Arthur Vermeeren, and Oriel Romeu.
Martin Zubimendi is considered the player most similar in profile to Busquets. He also plays for La Liga club Real Sociedad and has been phenomenal for them. But he seems unwilling to move and has a release clause of 60 million euros, a price the Catalans cannot afford amid their financial situation.
Joshua Kimmich is a surprise addition considering his importance to Bayern Munich. He is a versatile player and could be a dream signing for the club. While there are rumors of Kimmich wanting to leave, Bayern will likely try to hold on to him at any cost.
The rest of the players are considered as possible alternatives should the first two fail to materialize.
Barcelona also hope to sign a right back and another winger, but the pivot position is the most important one now. Considering Barca’s financial situation, they have a lot of tough decisions to make as they brace for another important summer.
