Barcelona waiting on right-back’s return from injury to negotiate contract extension

Talks of a contract extension for Barcelona right-back Sergi Roberto continue to drag on.

The 30-year-old entered the final year of his contract in the summer of last year. Talks over a new deal had been initiated at the time but no progress was made.

Manager Xavi Hernandez, after his appointment in November, asked the club to hand the utility man a new contract, but his injury issues meant that talks were shelved.

Now, the Spanish international has just four months left on his contract with Barcelona and there have been no fresh approaches from the club as of yet. It has led to concerns within the player’s camp over whether the club want to hand him a new contract.

Barça, for their part, are in no hurry to open negotiations with Roberto, reports SPORT. It is stated that the Catalan giants are waiting for the La Masia graduate to return from injury before beginning talks over a new deal.

The report also claims that Xavi will have a huge say in whether Roberto will be given an extension or not. The 42-year-old had wanted the club to extend the right-back’s deal upon his appointment, but things have changed since, considering the injury problems the 30-year-old has had to face.

It is claimed that Xavi has been extremely supportive of Roberto during this period and advised him to undergo surgery in order to address his muscle injury issue.

The 30-year-old has been sidelined from late October and is only expected to be back in action in April. Whether he has enough time between then and the end of the season to convince Barcelona to offer him a new contract remains to be seen.

Even if the club decide to hand him a new deal, they are likely to ask Roberto to take a large pay cut, considering that he is not a regular starter for the Blaugrana anymore.