Barcelona has faltered in renewing their squad captain, paving the way for a costly free departure from the club.
FC Barcelona’s reserve team, Barça Atlètic, finds itself in a difficult summer following their relegation from Spain’s third division to the Segunda RFEF.
Everything will be changing with the new manager, Juliano Belletti, tasked with building the team from the ground up, and many players’ futures are uncertain.
This includes the reserve team’s captain.
The player’s contract expires on June 30, 2025, and, according to Mundo Deportivo, the club has not progressed with a renewal, leaving the player increasingly likely to depart as a free agent, which would be a crushing blow for the Barcelona youth project.
The captain in question is Aleix Garrido, who is only 21 years of age, but has a lot of respect in La Masia.
He made his first team debut for Barcelona in the 2022-23 season under Xavi Hernández, and he has been very good for Barça Atlètic this season in 25 appearances, scoring two goals and registering three assists.
But despite his first team debut, he suffered a long-term injury that kept him out from March to November last year, and with Hansi Flick as the first team manager, he never really gained traction.
With his contract running down and no agreement on the table, the future at the club is uncertain for Garrido, drawing a parallel with the recent departure of Juvenil A captain Hugo Alba to Serbian club OFK.
The difficulty of keeping players like Garrido is compounded by Barcelona’s limitations in and adherence to La Liga’s Financial Fair Play guidelines.
The club is in a precarious position with their first team’s obligations, which may mean losing promising youngsters.
Although Belletti is trying to rebuild the squad for a quick return to the third division, if Garrido were to leave for free, it would demonstrate the challenges facing La Masia.
Supporters are all hoping for a last-minute swoop, but it looks as though Garrido will be pursuing other options.
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