Alex Collado has delivered an ultimatum to Barcelona management after yesterday’s preseason friendly defeat of Nastic.
The midfielder scored in the 4-0 win at the Mini Estadi.
And afterwards, Collado declared: “I’m not going to play with the reserves.
“Either I’ll stay in the first team or I’ll go, but my priority is to fight to stay here, but if I don’t (play), I can’t rule out anything either.”
Collado saw his contract extended unilaterally by Barca in March to 2023.
Sergio Ramos boasts strong ties to Real Madrid, but they have now been severed after 16 years and the Paris Saint-Germain new boy is able to admit that Barcelona superstar “Lionel Messi will always have a role in my team”.
A veteran Spain international defender spent many seasons locking horns with an Argentine forward in La Liga, with his role as Blancos captain preventing him from lauding the efforts of a Clasico rival.
Ramos is, however, taking on a new challenge in France and, after seeing Messi linked with PSG amid the uncertainty surrounding his expired contract, the 35-year-old admits to being a big fan of a six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“I like to play with the best players and Messi has been one of the best in the world,” Ramos has told TNT Sports.
“I have always said that Messi will always have a role in my team.”
Antoine Greizmann was missing from Barcelona’s new kit promotion on Thursday.
The video included Marc-André Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Gerard Piqué and Frenkie De Jong.
But unlike in the home kit launch last month, Griezmann was nowhere to be seen in the promotional footage released.
Griezmann is the subject of transfer talks with former club Atletico Madrid.
The France international’s situation has changed completely in the last 30 days. Just one month ago, he was one of the most prominent faces in the club’s home kit launch. Now, however, he looks to be close to a return to the Wanda Metropolitano in a swap deal involving Saúl Ñiguéz.
Former Rayo Vallecano star and now pundit Pedro Riesco has questioned Barcelona’s transfer policy.
Riesco has expressed his surprise about Joan Laporta’s calm reactions when asked about Lionel Messi’s future and contract renewal with Barcelona.
The Argentina captain’s contract with Barcelona expired on July 1 and the Blaugrana have yet to announce its potential renewal, mainly due to the club’s financial struggles and their obligation to follow LaLiga’s fair play rules.
“I am surprised by the calmness with which Laporta talks about Messi, as if Messi were still a Barcelona player,” Riesco told Radio MARCA.
“For me the most serious thing that is happening to Barcelona is that they can’t register the players they have signed, [Sergio] Aguero, [Memphis] Depay…”
New Barcelona sports chief Jordi Cruyff admits securing Leo Messi to a new contract “will be tough”.
Barca must juggle their finances due to LaLiga wage cap rules.
Jordi told Marca: “It’s difficult to give an opinion as an outsider, and I haven’t started working for the club yet”. He added that “the rules of Spanish football are clear.
“Before tying Messi down to a new deal, we need to put in a lot of ground work and it’s going to be tough.
“The good news is that he hasn’t signed for any other club, and this proves that he genuinely wants to stay at Barça.”
La Liga giant Barcelona are eager for Chelsea to sign Antoine Griezmann this summer.
The French striker, who was with his national team at Euro 2020 earlier this summer, is one of the highest earners at the Catalan giants.
Given the club’s problems with debt and their breaching of La Liga salary cap rules, high earners have to be moved off the wage bill before they can register their summer signings.
According to the Daily Star, Griezmann could be offered to Chelsea in a bid to salvage Barcelona’s attempts to secure Lionel Messi to a new contract.
Griezmann is not a necessity for Barca if they keep Messi, given the summer arrivals of Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay on free transfers.
Chelsea are in the market for a centre-forward but may balk at his wage demands, even if he did score 20 goals and manage 13 assists in 51 games for Barcelona last term.
Manchester City have also been offered the chance to sign the World Cup winner.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says Barcelona should hire an ex-player for their next coach.
While supportive of Ronald Koeman, Guardiola insists he shouldn’t be considered when it comes to replacing the Dutchman.
He told TV3: “I hope someone like Xavi, (Sergi) Busquets or (Javier) Mascherano will come through.
“It’s up to them to decide. If you think I can help Barca I’m happy with life. There must be others who are taking the plunge.
“There are people who are very capable of coaching Barça.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has urged Barcelona midfielder Pedri to snub the Olympics Games.
Pedri, currently with Spain at the Euros, has been selected by Spain for the Tokyo Games.
But Guardiola said: “I think that a competition in the summer is enough. Messi went to the Olympic Games (in 2008) because he had neither the World Cup nor the Copa America.
“Ferran Torres and Rodri could have gone to the Games and they don’t go, but they’ve already gone to the Euro. It’s too much. They should turn it down. We pay them very well and they serve the club.
“Going to the Euro is very good for them, they are doing very well.”
Barcelona’s debt problem is preventing the renewal of Lionel Messi’s contract.
Expansion quotes the financial adviser Ramón Álvarez de Mon, who shared his insight into the hurdles facing Barça as they try and push Messi’s new deal through.
“Barça must generate €400 million in capital gains and savings on salaries,” the expert explained.
The cited media assured that La Liga could oppose any contract offered by Barça that is for two years as a player but paid over five (as if he was an ambassador), given it would be a way around the league’s financial controls and fair play.
Meanwhile, the tax office could also have something to say.
“If Messi is paid for two years as a player and from the third year as an ambassador in Miami, he would be earning for what he generated as a player at Barça, but he wouldn’t be a resident, so he wouldn’t be paying tax in Spain or he would be paying less than residents, which could lead to a fraud case,” added Álvarez de Mon.
He continued: “The club and Messi have previous in this sense (with Messi’s last tax case) and in the case of a potential sentence, he could end up in prison and the club in dissolution, which is the punishment for companies in this case.”
In addition, Expansion also point out that clubs that exceed their salary limit can only ‘sign’ for 25 percent of the amount saved. That’s to say, if Barça sell a player for 40 million euros, they can only spend 10 million.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta insists talks with Lionel Messi remain on track.
Messi is now a free agent with his previous Barca deal expiring on June 30.
Asked about the risk of losing Messi, Laporta said: “(We are) calm.”
He continued: “We are doing well. You have to fit it into the financial fair play. We want him to stay and he is excited to stay. I wish I could tell you that Leo is staying but I can’t say yet. We are in the process of finding the solution.”
Laporta added: “The return to the presidency has been tough but I am still just as encouraged.”