Roberto: Pedro & Adriano will stay

Barcelona technical director Roberto believes Pedro Rodriguez and Adriano will remain at the club despite lingering rumours each will be on the move.

Pedro has been linked with a switch to Manchester United and it was said his appearance in the Joan Gamper Trophy win over Roma could be his last at Camp Nou.

Adriano meanwhile is understood to want to move to a club that will offer him more regular playing time, as he is viewed as a back-up player by Luis Enrique, who nevertheless thinks highly of the Brazilian.

“I spoke with them both in San Francisco and my feeling now is the same as it was then. I think they’ll stay,” Roberto said, according to Sport.

“Pedro has a clause of €30m. We’re waiting to see if there’s a team that wants to pay the clause. We don’t want him to leave.

“If he leaves then Barca lose a player who offers things on and off the pitch. And that is very difficult.”

Roberto, who also praised Pedro for his ‘exemplary behaviour’ amid the gossip, then moved on to Adriano.

“His situation is similar to that of Pedro. There’ll be news in the next few hours, but it looks like he’ll stay,” he said of the full-back.

A further report from Sport suggests Adriano will be offered a new contract to convince him to remain at his current club and while the player has yet to offer a reply, it’s said the deal is a tempting one as it offers him two more years guaranteed at Barca and an optional third.

Roberto added that should Pedro or Adriano leave, there won’t be new faces to replace them.

“The squad is closed. But we’re always attentive to options in the market,” he confirmed.

“We’ve got enough time to think about reinforcements for January.”

Tags Adriano Pedro Rodriguez Roberto Fernandez
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