Barcelona captain will not leave the club for Portuguese giants – Romano

The summer transfer window’s deadline day has been hectic in the Barcelona offices to this point.

Be it the departure operations of Ansu Fati and Ez Abde or the arrivals of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix, Joan Laporta & co. have been working overtime to get all transactions done.

One piece of news that went under the radar amidst the hectic updates was the story of Sergi Roberto’s possible move away from Barcelona.

Earlier today, CMTV (h/t Mercado a Mexer) reported that Benfica were strongly considering signing the Barcelona captain on a loan move today. Such was their conviction that the source claimed the deal would be sealed in a few hours.

The ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano has immediately come out to quash any such rumours. The Italian journalist has openly called it a fake story and insists that it will not happen in the hours to come.

A captain sans a starting spot

With Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba all leaving the club this summer, Sergi Roberto saw himself promoted from fourth captain to the first captain of Barcelona.

Ironically, however, the Spaniard does not have a starting position in Xavi Hernandez’s team.

The 31-year-old stayed on the bench throughout Barcelona’s 0-0 draw against Getafe and came on for a late cameo against Cadiz.

Roberto started for the Blaugranas in their most recent outing against Villarreal and played all 90 minutes. Yet, he was one of the team’s evident weak links that the Yellow Submarines conveniently exploited on the night.

What next for Barcelona?

With Romano now clearing the air around Roberto’s future, it is clear that the Blaugrana offices are focusing on the deals in hand.

The club is working hard to complete Abde’s exit to Real Betis in the closing hours of the transfer market.

As for the arrivals of Felix and Cancelo, all eyes are on La Liga in anticipation of the approval of Laporta’s €10 million personal guarantee.