On Tuesday, FC Barcelona sporting director Deco made his media debut. The Catalan club’s manager gave a long interview to his club’s official website. The opportunity for him to discuss various topics such as the team’s objectives, his collaboration with Hans Dieter Flick and the transfer market. On this specific point, he defended his record against criticism concerning the fact that the squad is a little too small in quantity this season. “I don’t think so. Let’s not forget that we have Gavi, Frenkie (de Jong), who continues to recover. We have Ronald Araujo, Christensen. When they come back, the problem will be for the coach because they won’t be able to play everything. I think that last year we had a bigger squad. This year, Hector and Sergi Domínguez can play… they have taken a step forward.”
However, behind the scenes, the story is different. Indeed, Sport reveals that the Camp Nou residents would have liked to strengthen themselves a little more in the midfield. This will be one of the missions during the winter or summer transfer window of 2025. The Spanish publication also cites several names, including that of Joshua Kimmich. The German has been courted by the Culés for months, he who is at the end of his contract at Bayern Munich. But a contract extension is not to be excluded for the player, who knows Flick perfectly. A coach who has already managed him in selection or in Bavaria. Same thing for Leon Goretzka, who is pushed towards the exit. Finally, Sport evokes the track leading to Fabian Ruiz (28 years old). Sometimes singled out for his irregularity at PSG, the midfielder is unanimous in Spain. It must be said that he played at an excellent level during Euro 2024.
Barça wants to use De Jong
Which did not escape the Iberian giants. Yesterday, Sport revealed that Real Madrid, who want to compensate for the loss of Toni Kroos, have an eye on him. The player also has the advantage of already knowing Carlo Ancelotti, who crossed his path at Naples. But it is difficult to imagine Florentino Pérez negotiating with Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, since the two presidents have been on bad terms since the Mbappé affair. It should also be added that the big priority for the Madrid midfielders for 2025 is Rodri (Manchester City). This could leave a boulevard for FC Barcelona, who have been following the player for a very long time without having gone on the offensive. This time, the leaders believe that it is possible to dislodge him from Paris, where he is behind Vitinha, João Neves and Warren Zaïre-Emery in Luis Enrique’s mind.
In addition, Joan Laporta’s club has an ace up its sleeve: Frenkie de Jong. It’s no secret that the Dutchman has been linked to the Parisians several times in the past. The Culés are therefore counting on the interest of the Parisians to make an offer to the French champions. According to Sports Stadiumthe idea is to use De Jong as a bargaining chip to attract Ruiz. Same story in the columns of Sportwho states that the relationship between the Dutch player and the Barça Board of Directors has deteriorated in the last two years. For all these reasons, the Barcelona players intend to part ways with the player, who is often injured, and offload him to PSG, while recovering Fabian Ruiz. It remains to be seen whether the Spaniard, Paris and De Jong, who already said no to Manchester United two years ago, are interested.
