“The football is over now and the work in the office begins,” said Xavi Hernandez after Barcelona finished their 2021-22 La Liga campaign with a limp 2-0 home defeat by Villarreal.
Barca ultimately finished second in La Liga, climbing from ninth place, which was where Xavi found the club when he returned to replace Ronald Koeman as coach in November. Subsequent eliminations from the Copa del Rey and Europa League meant a second season in three years without a trophy.
“Many things must be changed to try and be more competitive and fight for trophies,” Xavi went on. “We cannot have another blank year. Many changes are needed. We have to improve and strengthen.”
Some of that planning has progressed well; deals have been agreed to sign free agents Andreas Christensen from Chelsea and Franck Kessie from AC Milan, while other targets have been identified, including Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Leeds United’s Raphinha.
Picking players they would like to sign is the easy part, however — working out how on earth they can afford them is far more difficult. Barca’s €1 billion debts and La Liga’s salary cap regulations mean they cannot even register Christensen or Kessie until they have once again chipped away at the wage bill.
There has been some progress made by Barca’s sporting director Mateu Alemany, technical secretary Jordi Cruyff, and club president Joan Laporta. Philippe Coutinho has already joined Aston Villa in a cut-price exit, while Luuk de Jong is returning to Sevilla after a loan spell. There is no confirmation of new deals yet for Dani Alves, 39, or long-injured utility player Sergi Roberto. Xavi would like Ousmane Dembele to re-sign, but the France international is still considering his options.
The Camp Nou dressing room is still packed with players Xavi does not want to use, but who do not want to leave. Between comings and goings, Barca could have a turnaround of 20 players this summer. For Xavi to get the squad he really wants, one that can really challenge for the top trophies next season, here’s an XI the club really needs to move on as soon as possible.
Neto Muara
Neto has spent three seasons as back-up to first choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, making just 21 appearances since joining from Valencia for €26 million in 2019.
The once-capped Brazil international, 32, would have left Barca 12 months ago but no attractive offers were received. This year the Catalan press have claimed that Everton and Aston Villa might be interested, while he was linked with Flamengo in January.
A return to his home country may make most sense at this point. But with two years still on his contract, Barca would probably have to pay him a significant sum to make that happen.
Sergino Dest
Ronald Koeman trusted Dest during his time as coach, but Xavi was less convinced about the US international, to the point of rehiring his old team-mate Alves to play right-back instead.
Barca would like to get back the €25 million they paid Ajax to sign Dest in 2020. The 21-year-old has been on Chelsea’s radar since the start of the year, although he is not at the top of their list. Sevilla and Bayern Munich have also been mentioned as possible destinations.
Dest himself will need convincing to leave, like many of his team-mates. He likes life in the Catalan capital, and began building a house in the coastal resort of Sitges just last January.
Samuel Umtiti
Barca have been trying to move Umtiti on for most of the last four years, ever since he played through a knee injury to help France win the 2018 World Cup.
But no club has ever come close to matching the terms of the bumper deal the defender signed just before that tournament in Russia. That contract was extended last January all the way to June 2026, but that was purely an accounting manoeuvre to enable Barca to register their winter window…
Read More: Barcelona transfers: The XI players Xavi could sell to fund his summer rebuild