Just in: La Masia duo reject three renewal offers from Barcelona

Barcelona have been on the lookout for new signings, mostly on free transfers, for a while now, but they also continue to give attention to contract renewals in the team.

There are four players whose contracts expire in the next 16 months. Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto are set to come free agents in the summer, while Gavi and Ronald Araujo still have time till June 2023.

Barça have had their fair share of problems with the 2022 duo, but are prioritising the 2023 duo before anything else. However, according to MARCA, Gavi and Araujo have rejected as many as three contract renewal offers from the club.

They do not feel the terms being offered to them reflect their position at the club despite each proposal being better than the previous one.

According to news that broke yesterday, Barcelona have decided to not offer Araujo fresh terms. Their last offer is almost triple his current salary, and they will not revise it any further.

They hope that both players will end up accepting the offers at the end. However, there is a growing fear that it could end up like Dembele and Roberto’s situation, where talks have essentially broken down.

Further, they also recognise that the players in question have several offers from Premier League sides. Araujo, especially, has reportedly fielded offers worth €8 million from Manchester United and €6 million from Arsenal.

Gavi, meanwhile, has interest from Liverpool and Chelsea, but there have been no further updates on that front.

BU Says

It would be spectacularly foolish to lose players as talented as Araujo and Gavi to save a couple million. Both players are unique in their skillsets and are clearly willing to continue at the club.

Araujo, especially, is a first-team-er by this point, and inarguably one of the best U23 centre-backs in the world. Meanwhile, Gavi, at 17, has already proven that he can compete with the very best.

The young duo are an important part of the club, and Xavi’s rebuild project with youth at the core of it. Barça will regret it if they do not renew either of the two.