Barcelona Want to Part Ways With Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique in January
After a poor last season, Barcelona made a flurry of signings at the start of this season. Players like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Hector Bellerin joined the club.
They made a great start in La Liga. Barcelona managed to win nine of their first eleven matches in the league. With twenty-eight points they are currently in second place in the table, only three points behind defending champions Real Madrid.
However, the story in the UEFA Champions League is quite different. After winning their first match against Viktoria Plzen, Barcelona lost three of their next four matches. They are now relegated to the Europa League for the second season in a row.
The biggest problem Barcelona will suffer due to its elimination from the UEFA Champions League is the loss of revenue. They are already going through a financial crisis and Laporta somehow managed to stable the club this summer.
Barcelona invested hugely in the summer to sign multiple players. They did it by sacrificing a part of their future revenue. The Catalan giants expected to reach at least the quarter-finals of the Champions League which could have made the financial burden lesser.
But now after their exit from UCL, another huge financial struggle is looming over their head. So to avoid this, Barcelona will have to either make some big sales or release a few big names who earn high.
Despite being one of the captains, Gerard Pique is currently Barcelona’s sixth-choice centre-back. The defender is way past his prime but still earns a huge wage from the Catalan giants.
Earlier, the centre-back admitted that he will leave camp Nou if Barcelona management want him to do so. But so far, he has not left the club. His compatriot Jordi Alba has also slipped in the pecking order. The Spanish International is currently the third-choice left-back for Barcelona.
The Blaugrana event accepted a loan deal in the final days of the last summer transfer window when inter Milan approached them. But Alba decided to not leave the club. He has the desire to retire in Blaugrana colours.
Together the duo will earn around €145 million if they fulfil their contract which has made the Barcelona board worried. They are negotiating with the two veterans for a move out of the club. But it will not be easy to do so.
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