Barcelona have made it more than clear that Martin Braithwaite has no place in Xavi Hernandez’s plans for this season, but the Danish footballer continues to refuse an exit.
At the end of last season Xavi publicly mentioned Braithwaite in a list of players that he would not be counting on for this season. As the Blaugrana jetted off on their preseason tour, Braithwaite was one of five players left in Catalonia.
As per Sport, Braithwaite has offers from Ajax and Rayo Vallecano to leave the club, but he has so far not entertained any such exit. The reasons for that are not hard to come up with, including a large salary, a beautiful place to live and being part of one of the largest clubs in the world.
Yet Sport go on to speculate that part of the reason he may not be willing to depart is due to his business interests. Braithwaite is an entrepreneur outside of football and together with his cousin owns a property business worth €212m. Being linked to a global brand like Barcelona only helps with his business interests and opens doors for Braithwaite.
They do however note that Braithwaite is risking his spot in the Danish World Cup squad. should he continue without minutes at Barcelona.
Particularly with players that Barcelona are keen to move on, it is always worth exercising caution with stories that might denigrate the player in question. However it does seem to put paid the idea that Braithwaite might be staying at Barcelona for money, given the numbers involved with his other businesses.
