Barcelona vice-president issues update on the renewals of Dembele, Balde, Yamal, and Xavi

During an interview with SPORT, Barcelona vice-president Rafa Yuste has given an important update on the contract renewals of several players, including Alejandro Balde, Lamine Yamal, and Ousmane Dembele, as well as manager Xavi Hernandez.

Balde and Yamal are both understood to have agreed to sign new contracts with the club prior to departing for the pre-season tour of the USA.

However, an official announcement is yet to be made by the club on the matter, with it being suggested that the La Liga champions wish to confirm Balde’s renewal soon after they return from the US.

And while he did not give much away, Yuste stated that Barcelona hope to have good news for the fans as far as the La Masia duo’s contract status soon.

“We are talking to both of them and we hope to give you good news about both of them soon,” the Barcelona VP said.

When asked about the renewal of another important player in Dembele, Yuste admitted that things were progressing a bit slower than the club would like. However, he expressed optimism that the deal will be done.

“It seems like a never-ending story. It’s been the same every year. Xavi likes Dembélé a lot and it’s a process that is slower than others. I hope we end up with a good agreement for both parties,” he stated.

Xavi’s current contract with Barça runs down next year and talks over a new deal had begun. However, they have taken a backseat for now with the club trying to sort out the transfers and player renewals.

But, Yuste was confident that the manager’s extension will go ahead without any problems as he said: “Absolutely. What Xavi has asked us to do is to finish the registration of the first team players first. Xavi, who is a club man, knows what is most important.

“He is very grateful for the effort that the president and the board are making. He knows perfectly well the economic difficulties we are facing and he has said that we will talk about it calmly and I’m sure we will understand each other.”

Barcelona have made confirmed four signings thus far in Ilkay Gundogan, Inigo Martinez, Oriol Romeu, and Vitor Roque, although the latter will join only in 2024. They have not seen much success as far as exits are concerned, however.

On asked about his opinion about how the window has gone so far, Yuste said: “The market is never closed at a club like Barça.

“At the moment, we have an even stronger squad than we could have hoped for thanks to the work that has been done by the sporting management, backed by the board and the president. We have three great new players who are going to give an extra boost of excellence to the team, I am convinced of that.”

Barcelona president Joan Laporta had claimed that Xavi still wants to sign another midfielder and a right-back. On whether the club can fulfil those requests, Yuste said:

“Maybe these players are missing. Since Xavi arrived we have tried to give him everything that he and his coaching staff have wanted, little by little we have been completing this team profile that Xavi has asked for so much.

Talking of player exits, Yuste said: “We are working on it because it is necessary for players to leave, especially those who don’t count for the coach.”

Yuste then criticised the bumper contracts that the previous administration had handed out to some players with enormous wages, stating that the current board had put an end to that.

“There have been contracts that for me were really irresponsible. We have put a stop to contracts that will never happen again at the club, never again. And it is not the player’s fault that executives, presidents… made them,” he said.

“Our first priority is that the club belongs to the members and for that, we have to look after the club’s economy. You can see it with the contracts we are making.”

There has been a lot of talk about Barcelona needing at least one big sale to generate revenue and comply with the Financial Fair Play rules. When asked about that, Yuste replied:

“We don’t need a big sale, but we need to have this balance plan that La Liga has set for us, to have ‘Fair Play’. We are fighting to achieve this.

“We have reduced the wage bill by almost €200 million, working very hard, talking to the players, with the environment, trying to explain to them the harsh reality of what is happening at the club.”

The Barcelona vice-president also assured that there will be no problems with registering any of the new signings or new contracts, saying:

“We are working on it. We presented a viability plan to the league, we are working on it and I think that soon we will be able to announce that there will be no problem for the players to be registered. There will be good news very soon.”