Earlier today, the likes of Sergio Busquets, Gavi, Jordi Alba and Ferran Torres returned to Barcelona training following their vacation after the World Cup assignment with Spain.
The Blaugrana will resume their campaign in less than two weeks, when they lock horns with Catalan rivals RCD Espanyol on December 31.
Before that, though, manager Xavi Hernandez is scheduled to meet his captain, Busquets, to discuss the latter’s future beyond the ongoing season, reports Diario AS.
Busquets’ contract with Barcelona expires at the end of the 2022/23 campaign and, as things stand, the 34-year-old has reportedly decided to leave the club as a free agent, with Inter Miami emerging as his preferred destination.
However, manager Xavi is keen on keeping hold of his former teammate at Spotify Camp Nou for another year. To that end, he will make one final attempt at convincing Busquets to remain at Barcelona beyond this campaign when the meeting takes place in the coming days.
But the report adds that despite Xavi’s keenness on keeping hold of Busquets, it will be difficult for the manager to get the veteran midfielder to change his mind at this point.
Busquets, who recently announced his retirement from international football, has seemingly made his mind up about leaving Barcelona and joining Inter Miami in the summer of 2023.
So, while Xavi will try and change his mind, at this point such a turn of events seems unlikely. It will force Barça in the market for a replacement for the club captain, with several names on the agenda.
Frenkie de Jong is seen as an in-house option but Xavi sees the 25-year-old Dutchman as more of an interior midfielder. Hence, the club will very likely bring in a new player, with Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is seen as the primary target.