“This is the expectation” – Barcelona record breaker’s future is away from the club says Romano

Barcelona haven’t had the best of seasons in 2023/24, but the board and playing staff will surely be encouraged that Xavi has decided to stay with them for another campaign at least.

It allows the Catalan giants to be able to build upon the last two years work without any great upheaval.

Though the club haven’t won any silverware this year, indicating just how far they’ve fallen since the glory days of Messi, Suarez and Neymar et al, it’s clear that Joan Laporta sees Xavi as the man to lead the club out of its current funk.

Ansu Fati’s future is away from Barcelona

With his immediate future assured, plans should already be afoot as to what Barca intend to do in the transfer market this summer.

There are players not currently with them whose futures also need to be decided upon too.

“Barcelona could be open to letting Ansu Fati leave again this summer, and this is the expectation from the club side,” Fabrizio Romano told CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.

“We will see if it will be another loan, a permanent move, if Brighton will return again for Ansu or not… but at the moment it’s still early to be absolutely sure.

“Fati’s future remains open.”

Once upon a time, Ansu Fati was being hailed as the successor to Lionel Messi, but failure to recover properly from a long-standing injury curtailed his natural abilities.

A shadow of his former self with his confidence knocked for six, he was never going to be the same player again.

That he’s not really managed to break through at Brighton too suggests that Ansu will become another statistic for the ‘what might’ve been’ category of players, though it can’t be said that he’s thrown away his career like some players have done of course.

Had things turned out differently, the 21-year-old could’ve been leading the Barcelona line alongside another record-breaker in Lamine Yamal.

There’s a lesson to be learned from both Barca’s and Lamine’s point of view too, in that if he’s pushed too hard too soon, as the Catalans try desperately to win some silverware, he too could find himself on the treatment table.