Barcelona have reached an agreement with left-back Alejandro Baldé on a new contract. The nineteen-year-old is the big revelation at Barcelona this season and still had a contract for over a year. However, the extension still has some snags.
Buyout clause of a billion
The Spanish medium SPORT reports the agreement between Barcelona and Baldé. The defender played Jordi Alba from the base this season and appeared in 27 matches in La Liga at the kick-off. He became a key part of Barcelona’s hugely successful defensive line, keeping clean in 25 of their 34 appearances this season.
Baldé and his agent Jorge Mendes have agreed to a three-year extension, which would see him fixed until the summer of 2027. His contract also includes a buyout clause of one billion euros, as is the case with Ronald Araújo, Gavi, Pedri, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati.
Before the contract can actually take effect, La Liga must first approve Barcelona’s feasibility plan. Due to the club’s dire financial situation, Barcelona’s financial housekeeping is under scrutiny. La Liga has indicated that the club must first make room in salary costs to start new contracts. For the same reason, Gavi, Araújo, Sergi Roberto, Marcos Alonso and Inaki Pena are also still in the waiting room.
Baldé became one of the big men last Sunday by scoring a goal and an assist in the championship game against fellow townsman Espanyol. The back became champion for the first time in his career with Barcelona.
Cruyff walks away from Barcelona
Jordi Cruyff is in his last weeks at Barcelona. The club announces that the sporting director has announced his departure.
Due to the departure of Mateu Alemany, there was already plenty of speculation by the Spanish media about the future of Cruyff, who could also leave. That will indeed happen, after this season. Cruyff chooses to take on other sporting challenges. He informed the club on Tuesday morning.
Cruyff was employed by Barcelona for two seasons, the club where he worked his way up and was given more and more to say in the sporting field. He was briefly mentioned as a possible successor to Marc Overmars at Ajax, but that never became concrete.
Cruyff has held various positions in recent years. He was a coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Chongqing Lifan, Shenzhen FC (China). And, for a very short time, national coach of Ecuador. Cruyff was also sporting director at AEK Larnaca (Cyprus), Maccabi and Barcelona.
After the appointment of Joan Laporta as chairman at Barcelona, Cruyff was soon named for an important position. It’s no secret that Laporta has a close relationship with the family and wanted to bring back ‘the spirit of Cruyff’. It is not yet known who will succeed Cruyff. But Deco’s name has been singing around in Catalonia for a long time.
