Barcelona wants to meet soon-to-be free agent Busquets in the short term. The midfielder is transfer-free next summer and seemed to be leaving Camp Nou for a long time. If it is up to the Catalans, this will be stopped.
According to Mundo Deportivo, trainer Xavi Hernández would love to keep the veteran on board. The coach sees Busquets as an extension to the field and would therefore like to have his former teammate extend his contract. According to the Catalan media, Busquets will therefore still sit down with the club.
For a long time, Busquets seemed to be aiming for a departure from Camp Nou. However, due to the development of the team, the veteran has found a reason to miss an adventure. The club icon has already received lucrative offers from the United States and Saudi Arabia in recent months. Suddenly, however, the door to a longer stay in Barcelona is open again.
What is important to Xavi is that the club may not be able to find a replacement on the transfer market next summer. Because of the financial disorder, a new penalty for Barça is imminent. By keeping Busquets, the club would have one less thing to worry about. The Barça icon has already played 710 official games for the club and won no less than 33 trophies.
On Friday, Barça already held Sergi Roberto for a longer stay. Roberto, also a child of the club, also had an expiring contract. However, the versatile Spaniard extended his contract by one year.
Diego Simeone questions the tussle between Vinícius Júnior and Frenkie de Jong
Diego Simeone’s weekly press talk was not only about Atlético Madrid’s home game against Sevilla, but also about Thursday’s Clásico. The Argentinian coach was surprised by the arbitration.
During the last meeting between Atlético and Barcelona, Stefan Savic and Ferran Torres both received a red card after a scuffle. In Estadio Santiago Bernabéu Vinícius Júnior and Frenkie de Jong rolled over the grass and the Brazilian in particular did not leave his mark. Vinícius put two hands around Frenkie’s neck and pulled him to the ground with a judo throw.
That offense seemed lighter than the tussle between Savic and Torres, but Simeone thought his way. “You all saw the same as me. When we see the images, we ask ourselves the same questions. It’s hard to add much more to what you’ve seen. As always, it depends on the interpretations of the referees, on how they saw things. Everything should be equal.”
Vinícius got away with a yellow card, Frenkie didn’t get the receipt. Barcelona would go on to win the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg 0–1 through an own goal from Real Madrid defender Éder Militão.
