The Bianconeri will not activate their option to buy the striker from Atletico Madrid outright at the conclusion of the season.
Barcelona have agreed a deal with Alvaro Morata to bring him to Camp Nou, but both parties must wait for Juventus to find a replacement for the Spain striker before the trade is finalised and he can leave Turin, according to GOAL.
The forward’s time in Italy is coming to an end, with Juve already indicating that they would not exercise their right to buy the striker outright from parent club Atletico Madrid for €35 million (£29m/$40m) at the conclusion of the season.
The Blaugrana have thus pushed to secure his return to La Liga from Serie A, and have now basically agreed terms on an 18-month contract for the forward – but no deal will be official until the Bianconeri have found a replacement at Allianz Stadium.
- What is the scenario?
Members of the Barcelona hierarchy approached Morata’s representation in recent weeks to assess interest in a return to his homeland, since he has been away in Italy since being loaned to Juventus last year.
Having taken over for Ronald Koeman, Xavi is aiming to fix the club’s season, with the Blaugrana – like Juve – stuck in a rut, and a conventional striker seen as an essential element of that transition.
Now, it appears that the Catalan club is almost there, but there are still some issues to work out, including obtaining permission from both the Old Lady and Morata’s original club, Atletico Madrid, with whom he has a contract until 2020.
- Will Juventus accept the offer?
So far, the Bianconeri have remained somewhat uncommitted to the transaction, despite reports that they were given Memphis Depay in part-exchange early on, with the primary obstacle remaining the identification of a replacement for Morata.
Separately, the attacker is under contract with Atletico until 2023, which means that a deal with Diego Simeone’s side would be required before a move to Camp Nou could be finalised.
As a result, even if personal terms are almost certain, the complexities constitute a hurdle to any prospective deal being made between the three clubs before the conclusion of the January transfer season.
- What’s more
Sergino Dest’s future at Barcelona has recently generated a lot of buzz, with reports claiming that Xavi isn’t too impressed with the right-back and might be open to listen to offers for the 21-year-old.
Bayern Munich has been connected with a transfer for Dest, while Chelsea has been linked with a move after Ben Chilwell was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
Herr Bliemeister, whose agency represents Dest, has been discussing the Barcelona star and has disclosed that he received offers to quit the club last summer. The agent also believes the right-back will be in high demand if he is considered surplus to requirements.
Barcelona must sell players during the January transfer window, therefore any bids for Dest are likely to be evaluated. The Catalan giants will also be able to employ Dani Alves in 2022 after re-signing the Brazilian for a second term at the Camp Nou, which may cause Dest to battle for playing time.
- Barcelona Leaves for the 2023/24 La Liga Season!
It is a watershed moment in FC Barcelona’s history, but the club’s members have finally granted the go-ahead for their €1.5 billion Camp Nou stadium renovation. The four-year plan, nicknamed the ‘Espai Barca’ project, aims to bring the club’s majestic home into the twenty-first century. Barcelona has strived to maintain pace with fierce rivals Real Madrid’s redevelopment of the Bernabeu Stadium, ensuring their much-loved home is fit for purpose for future generations.
Since its inception in 1957, the Nou Camp has served as FC Barcelona’s home. This world-famous football amphitheatre, which seats almost 100,000 people, is one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks.
Few historic buildings can compete with the Palau de la Musica Catalana in terms of external and internal architecture, as well as the acoustics of its music – notably its choir singing. Casino Barcelona, which has been a frequent stop on the European Poker Tour schedule and offers cash games and tournaments to locals outside of the main events conducted here, is another spectacular entertainment destination in the Catalan city. Espanyol’s €60 million RCDE Stadium on the fringes of Cornellà de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat is likewise a contemporary engineering marvel, although it will be dwarfed by the Espai Barca project when it is completed in 2025.
The first electric membership vote in Barcelona goes through without a hitch.
For the first time, Barcelona members were asked to vote electronically on the Espai Barca renovation proposal. More than two-fifths of the club’s global membership voted on the proposals, with 42,693 in favour and 5,055 opposing the works. An additional 875 members did not vote.
Members who voted against and abstained from voting on the proposal had long expressed reservations about the expenditures involved with Espai Barca. With the club’s total debt already approaching €1.5 billion, a vociferous minority was concerned about the hazards of incurring further debt to finish the renovations. However, the necessity to future-proof the Nou Camp and avoid costly maintenance works in the future saw the vote easily pass. Club president Joan Laporta argues that the reconstruction will pay for itself in the long run, resulting in increased yearly revenue. The team is also considering selling the stadium’s name rights after the 2025/26 season.
The Catalan club must now rethink its intentions for future seasons, now that the works have been authorised at the member level. It appears like a portion of the Nou Camp will have to be shuttered for the upcoming La Liga season. Meanwhile, the Nou Camp will be completely shuttered for the 2023/24 La Liga season, forcing Barcelona to seek a lease elsewhere in the city for a single season. According to ESPN, a realistic alternative is the Olympic Stadium in the Montjuic neighbourhood.
What to anticipate from the reconstruction of Espai Barca
Following the completion of Espai Barca, the Nou Camp will be extended to a 105,000-seater stadium that will be at the “cutting edge of technology.” The rebuilt and upgraded Nou Camp will have a retractable roof and 30,000 square metres of solar panels. These panels will use Catalan sunlight to power the stunning 360-degree screen that will wrap around the stadium’s interior. Innovative rainwater collection and utilisation techniques have also been devised to improve the stadium’s sustainability.
Aside from the pitch and the stadium structure, the Nou Camp’s concourse will be given a much-needed facelift. Fans will be able to enjoy new gorgeous green spaces surrounding the stadium, while eco-friendly workplaces and an on-site hotel will help generate cash to pay off this unique project. A smaller arena will be built as part of the larger Espai Barca complex. The future home of the city’s professional men’s basketball club will be dubbed ‘Palau Blaugrana.’
As a result, new Barcelona manager Xavi arrives from Qatar with a clear mandate to revamp this squad and guarantee that it is in good enough form to amuse and create a major impact by the time the Nou Camp loses its old skin.