Alemany wanted to remove key Barcelona duo from first-team dynamics during contract talks

As the news of Mateu Alemany’s impending departure from FC Barcelona is starting to sink in, reports have started to emerge on the behind-the-scenes situation that played a role in the 60-year-old’s decision to quit.

It had already been reported that the soon-to-be former Director of Sports of Barcelona was not in favour of re-signing Lionel Messi this summer while he also advocated against the renewals of Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto.

On top of that, the former Valencia sporting director was not pleased by president Joan Laporta relying on agents like Jorge Mendes and Pini Zahavi for important transfer decisions.

Building on that, Joan Fontes has now come out with an extensive report which sheds more light on the sudden divorce between Alemany and Barcelona.

As per the update, Alemany did not want key Barça duo Ousmane Dembele and Ronald Araujo involved in the first-team dynamics last season until they had signed their new contracts.

While Alemany’s stance on Dembele was public knowledge, it comes as a surprise to see that he wanted Araujo also to be out of the first-team dynamics until he renewed his contract. But, Xavi continued to count on the pair, which acted as a reason for the fracture in their relationship.

Other than this, the update from Joan Fontes also claims that Xavi went over Alemany’s head and direct to president Laporta for transfer matters which seemingly did not sit well with the 60-year-old.

Beyond that, another gripe between Xavi and Alemany is said to have been the handling of Sergi Roberto’s extension.

As per the update, Alemany allegedly behaved ‘hurtfully’ towards the Barcelona defender, insinuating that ‘nobody was going to offer him a better proposal’. It is said to have annoyed Xavi as well as club vice-president Rafa Yuste.

On top of that, the update claims that Alemany negotiated the departure of Jordi Alba with Inter Milan last summer without consulting the player first – another thing that did not sit well with Xavi.

All these factors, along with Alemany’s hesitancy over re-signing Messi, are said to have played a role in his impending exit.

Whether true or not, one cannot take away the good work that Alemany did in his two years at Barça, especially the way he handled the transfer business last summer, when not many expected the club to go big.

The sporting director is set to join Premier League side Aston Villa once he leaves Barcelona on June 30 and will look to complete much of the club’s transfer business before departing.