According to the Daily Mail, Barcelona want to part ways with Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto next season.
All four players have been part of the Catalan club for a while now. Pique has been playing for Blaugrana since 2008. He has made 613 appearances for the club, scoring 53 goals and providing 15 assists.
However, the Spanish defender has found it hard to get game time under Xavi Hernandez this season. He has played only 448 minutes of first-team football in seven appearances.
Busquets, a lifelong player at the club, has made 691 appearances since 2008, scoring 18 goals and providing 43 assists. He has played 11 games under Xavi so far this season.
Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto have also been at Barcelona for a long time and have won many trophies with them. However, the club recently signed Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha Dias, Jules Kounde, and more.
To fit them in the wage bill, Blaugrana needs to get rid of some big names. All four aforementioned players get big paychecks and are the primary choices for the club to let go.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez was happy with 3-0 win against Villarreal
Barcelona returned to winning ways as they defeated Villarreal in La Liga by a scoreline of 3-0 on Thursday (20 October). Robert Lewandowski bagged a spectacular brace and Ansu Fati scored another for the Catalan club.
Xavi was happy with his team’s performance as he told the media after the game (via Barca Universal):
“The whole team played well, all the lines, and yes the defense is solid, the feeling is good that we did not concede a goal and we are trying to progress in the league. The first half today was very good. We understood that the ‘free man’ was the pivot, Frenkie.”
Xavi further went on to praise Frenkie de Jong’s performance:
“Frenkie is the best player in the team when it comes to breaking lines. Today, he understood that very well, also in defense. … Frenkie was especially good today.
“We talk a lot with the players about not always attacking the first time, about deciding well, that’s why we talk about maturity. … Today, we even enjoyed it, depending on how the opponent plays you have to understand how to do it.”