La Masia star says Barcelona duo will ‘play for another 10 years if possible’

Barcelona midfield prodigy Nico Gonzalez has responded to the contract situation of teammates Gavi and Ronald Araujo, insisting that he believes the pair will sign a new deal with the club.

Both Gavi and Araujo have a little over one year left on their current contracts with the Catalan giants. And, talks over a new deal have been underway for quite a long time but the club have been unable to taste success in their endeavours.

While there have been recent reports claiming that there has been a boost for Barça with regard to Gavi’s situation, the same cannot be said about Araujo, who is attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.

However, Nico has insisted that he believes both will sign a new contract with the Blaugrana and go on to forge a successful career at Camp Nou for at least a decade or even longer than that.

“Araujo and Gavi? I’m sure they will reach an agreement to renew with Barça. They will continue at the club for another 10 or 15 years if possible,” the La Masia graduate said.

Apart from the duo’s situation, Nico also spoke about the future of Ousmane Dembele, whose current deal expires in a few months. But recent reports have opened the door for a possible renewal, a move that Nico has welcomed.

“It’s good news that Dembélé can help us. He’s essential for the team, we already saw him during El Clásico,” he said.

The La Masia product also spoke about his own contract, insisting that he would remain at the club forever if they wanted him. “Soon I will have to sit down to negotiate a contract renewal with the club. If Barça want to, I would stay here forever.”

The young midfielder, who is enjoying his breakthrough campaign at Camp Nou, opened up on the advice he had received from Luis Enrique, the manager of the Spanish national team.

“Luis Enrique told me that the second team of the national team is the U-21 and that we have to give everything here. And that’s where I’m at, because playing with the senior team is one of my dreams,” he added.

Nico also spoke about Barcelona’s arch-rivals, Real Madrid, wanting to sign him in the past, saying: “When I was 11 there were many teams that wanted to sign me, like Real Madrid, but I’ve always been a Barça fan.”

He also went on to reveal that he had turned down Premier League champions Manchester City in the past, adding: “When I was 16 I refused to sign for Manchester City because I always wanted to succeed in Barcelona.”

Speaking about La Masia graduates getting an opportunity with the senior team this term, Nico said:

“The economic situation of the club was positive for La Masia because the team couldn’t sign many players. But I think that we must also value that when they gave us that opportunity we have taken advantage of it.”

The Spaniard also talked about changing his position in midfield since joining the senior setup, while also adding that he gets a lot of support from the manager and the captain in his adaptation.

“I’ve always played at La Masia as a pivot, but now I’m playing as an interior. I’m adapting well, I can play in both positions. There are people like Xavi or Busquets who are helping me a lot.”

Nico was given his senior breakthrough by ex-manager Ronald Koeman and has continued his development under Xavi. The youngster touched upon the differences between the head coaches, saying:

“They have different ideas. In the end, Xavi’s idea is working, but we can’t forget that last year, under Koeman, we won the Copa del Rey and fought for La Liga.”

Nico has not started a lot of games, with Xavi preferring the trio of Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Pedri in the middle of the park. And the Spanish prospect insisted that it is important to make the most of whatever chances he gets.

“I don’t play many minutes, but the priority is the team. I think competitiveness is positive, it makes you improve. I have to work hard and take advantage of the minutes that Xavi gives me.”

Source: BarçaTV+