Xavi wants Barcelona to sign five players, with Messi the ‘icing on the cake’ – report

Barcelona’s financial situation may be grave, but it does not stop the club from dreaming. Amidst the economic wreck, Xavi Hernandez sees the need for five signings in the coming summer transfer window to bolster the squad and make them competitive in Europe again as reported by Javi Miguel.

The Spanish journalist reveals the various positions seen as a priority for June, the first of which is right-back. Barcelona’s need to generate revenue could force players like Eric Garcia to leave, and Xavi can thus not risk relying on Ronald Araujo or Jules Kounde at right-back.

Juan Foyth is the dream but appears far from a practical option. Barcelona could thus prioritise names like Benjamin Pavard or Thomas Meunier for the summer.

With the future of Garcia unsure, there is also the need to look for a low-cost reliable centre-half to serve as a backup to Araujo and Kounde. Inigo Martinez seems to be the preferred candidate, with an agreement reportedly already in place.

The third position of importance is the attacking midfield. Recent games have shown the Catalans’ dependence on Pedri and Ousmane Dembele to open up channels, and players like Ilkay Gundogan and Daichi Kamada have been mentioned to address these issues.

Robert Lewandowski’s backup is the penultimate position seen as a weakness, and the Blaugrana hope to meet Vitor Roque’s high price tag with economic manipulations. If the move fails, however, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would become a serious option.

Finally, Xavi and Barcelona dream of a left winger. With Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha, and Ferran Torres preferring to start from the right, the manager has struggled to improve the width of play. A player like Yannick Carrasco would do wonders in the position, although Ez Abde’s return is also a tempting option.

Beyond all of this, Lionel Messi’s return is interestingly not linked with any of the priority positions and would be considered the icing on the cake for Xavi.

All things point towards a busy summer for Xavi, Mateu Alemany, Jordi Cruyff and Barcelona as they will look to iron out the Financial Fair Play issues and bring in their intended targets to strengthen the squad.