On Saturday night, Barcelona suffered a 2-1 defeat against Valencia in the Copa del Rey final. The defeat prevented the Catalan giants from doing the domestic double in Spain.
Even prior to the defeat against Los Ches, the Blaugrana were planning on a squad revamp. Club president Josep Bartomeu has confirmed there will be many in and outs at the club this summer.
Confirmed there will be exits
Speaking after the Copa del Rey defeat, Bartomeu is quoting by Sky Sports as saying: “The season ends with the La Liga title. It wasn’t to be in the Copa del Rey and we keep moving forward.
“Every year new players come in. So far, we have confirmed De Jong’s signing and now we will work on bringing in others and moving players on, as is normal every summer.
“Now is not the moment to do anything. There are always new signings, but now is not the moment to talk about it.”
He did not really reveal much in that statement, just business as usual. However, there is a sense that the club will move on some big-name players this summer.
Players heading for the exit
It is no secret that Barcelona are interested in signing Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann this summer. However, to meet FFP rules and to balance the books they will have to sell some valuable assets.
It is not like they are short of players who will fetch a good fee this summer. Philippe Coutinho, Malcom, Samuel Umtiti and Ivan Rakitic’s futures are all in doubt. Then there is Andre Gomes, who spent a successful season on-loan at Everton.
All these players have big value and will in-demand. However, just because Barcelona want them to leave this summer, doesn’t mean they will.
The problem for the Catalan giants is that reportedly, Umtiti and Rakitic are not keen on leaving the club. Coutinho has endured a frustratingly inconsistent 18 months at the club, while compatriot Malcom has failed to nail down with the Spanish champions.
Everton are keen to sign Gomes on a permanent deal. The Toffees Premier League rivals Tottenham are also reportedly interested in signing the Portuguese star. It may come down to a bidding war.
Malcom has actually impressed in spurts in his limited appearances for Barcelona since his summer switch from Bordeaux. Ironically, both Everton and Spurs have been monitoring the Brazilian winger’s situation in Catalonia.
Umtiti, Rakitic and Coutinho have also all been linked with moves to the Premier League. It seems that Premier League clubs could hold the key to Barcelona signing their preferred targets this summer.
Barcelona in need of a revamp
Barcelona are in big need of revamping their squad this summer. A number of their squad are ageing and some are simply not good enough to play for one of the best teams in Europe.
Ernesto Valverde’s team comfortably won La Liga this season. They are also the favourites to win the title once again next season. However, as their collapse against Liverpool in the Champions League, the current squad is not equipped to challenge for Europe’s elite competition.
A club the size of Barcelona needs their team to be good enough to win the Champions League. It will take some major wheeling and dealing to improve their squad enough this summer to lift the big trophy next season.
Who will be the big names leaving Barcelona this summer?
