Barcelona’s Xavi gives Real Madrid upper hand in race for Mbappe

Mbappe may sign a new contract with PSG || Imago

FOOTBALL Barcelona’s Xavi gives Real Madrid upper hand in race for Mbappe

Barcelona’s Xavi gives Real Madrid upper hand in race for Mbappe

Ayoola Kelechi • 16:38 - 04.01.2024

The Catalan club have officially ruled themselves out of a possible pursuit for either of the two biggest names in world football at the moment, with Real Madrid favourites once again to land both

FC Barcelona's coach, Xavi Hernandez, has made it clear that the club is currently not in a financial position to pursue high-profile signings like Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe or Manchester City's Erling Haaland, giving rivals, Real Madrid an open road to go for both players in the summer.

Xavi cautious about Barcelona's spending

This statement reflects Barcelona's ongoing financial challenges, which have been a topic of discussion in recent years.

During the 2017-2019 period, Barcelona invested heavily in players such as Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele, with transfer fees exceeding 100 million euros each.

Philippe Coutinho never fully settled at Barcelona | Imago
Philippe Coutinho never fully settled at Barcelona | Imago

However, these large expenditures have significantly impacted the club's financial flexibility, making it difficult to consider additional high-cost signings in the near future.

Xavi’s Focus on Current Squad

Xavi emphasised the need to work with the current squad, underscoring the importance of focusing on winning titles and maintaining high-performance levels.

Barcelona's latest signing Vitor Roque | X/@FCBarcelona
Barcelona's latest signing Vitor Roque | X/@FCBarcelona

He acknowledged the club's economic constraints and the necessity of being pragmatic in their approach to transfers and team development.

Barcelona's League Performance

Despite these financial limitations, Barcelona remains competitive in La Liga, and the defending champions are currently holding the fourth position in the league, trailing the leaders, Real Madrid, by 10 points.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Xavi's focus is on maximising the potential of the existing squad and ensuring that the team continues to compete at a high level.

This situation at Barcelona is indicative of the broader financial landscape in European football, where even historically wealthy clubs are facing economic pressures and are required to make strategic decisions regarding player acquisitions and squad management.

Related content

Tags:
Paris Saint-Germain Real Madrid Barcelona Kylian Mbappe Lottin Erling Haaland Manchester City