Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has spoken about the future of several players in his Barcelona squad that have been linked with the exit door. While he did not give details on who he wants to leave, he did not dampen down talk of a move either.
While not getting into names, Xavi was relatively open about which areas of the team he wanted to see strengthened.
One of the chief candidates to leave the club this summer has been midfielder Franck Kessie. The Ivorian midfielder has been linked with a move regularly, reports of which have been shot down by his agency on multiple occasions.
Xavi: "We are in a complicated situation. We have to adapt to the economic situation. I can't talk about names."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 6, 2023
Speaking at the opening of his football campus, Xavi explained that he had discussed Kessie’s future with him ahead of their return to training this Monday.
“I spoke to him, yes. He already knows the situation, it is a private conversation and I will not make it public.”
He was also asked more generally about having those talks with players that he was not relying on for next season.
“I understand all of their situations. It’s not nice to tell a player that he will play very little but I have to do it: I am the coach. They end up thanking you for being honest and sincere, even if they get angry on the first day. That’s life, that’s the way it is.”
Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres are other names that have been heavily linked with the exit door, and Xavi was less committal in answering speculation that they might leave.
“With many of them I have been talking, through messages or conversations. As of the 10th [when they return to work], we will see, what we can reinforce, what not, and above all that the economic reserve fits us.”
Earlier in the press conference Xavi had admitted that there needed to be exits before they can make the necessary reinforcements.
Eventually, Barcelona did manage to persuade a number of players to leave the club last summer, but not without difficulty. In the cases of Fati, Kessie and Torres, all three will feel they can battle for minutes if they do remain at the club, thus adding a layer of difficulty to operations.
