Barcelona directors rejected the chance to sign 26-year-old forward to replace Depay

Memphis Depay’s move from Barcelona to Atletico Madrid benefitted all parties involved. While the player received a new lifeline in a difficult season, the Madrid-based club signed a more than able replacement for Joao Felix.

Meanwhile, Barcelona offloaded a player who was not being used by the manager and had just six months left on his contract, for a fee of €4 million, including add-ons. The Catalan giants could utilise the funds from his exit to sign a new player or register the contracts of Gavi and Ronald Araujo.

According to SPORT, Portuguese forward Goncalo Guedes was offered to the Catalans as a replacement signing a few days ago. However, club directors Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff rejected his signing as they did not see his profile to be optimal to replace the departing Dutchman.

Interestingly, it was rumoured earlier this week that Xavi Hernandez himself was a fan of the player arriving as a short-term backup. The tables seem to have turned in a short time, and his signing was later quickly discarded.

Guedes signed for Wolverhampton at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, but his career in England never kicked off. He had just three goal involvements in 18 games and was dubbed an outcast at the club.

As Barcelona’s interest in his signing dimmed, the 26-year-old looked at other options and eventually signed for Benfica on a six-month loan less than 24 hours ago.

It looks increasingly unlikely that Xavi will get his replacement signed in the current window given the club’s financial limitations. Instead, Barça could focus on registering the contract renewals of Araujo and Gavi while also looking to hand extensions to Inaki Pena and Alejandro Balde.

However, they do have a chance to sign Yannick Carrasco for €15 million in the summer, though it remains to be seen if the administration fancy that option.