Luis Enrique advises €60 million midfielder to choose Barcelona over Real Madrid

Mikel Merino has slowly but surely established himself as one of the best midfielders in La Liga.

Having come through the ranks at CA Osasuna, the midfielder burst onto the scenes at Borussia Dortmund before an ill-fated stint at Newcastle United followed. The Spaniard made his way to Real Sociedad in 2018 and has since become a consistent performer in La Liga.

The 25-year-old midfielder has been an integral part of Imanol Alguacil’s side that is currently sitting at the top of the La Liga table. Merino has featured 13 times in the league this term, scoring and assisting two goals apiece.

Merino has also broken into the Spanish national team, making his debut in September last year. Since then, he has featured ten times for La Roja under the watchful eye of Luis Enrique.

The Spaniard’s development has not gone unnoticed, with some of the biggest clubs across the continent casting admiring glances towards him. There have been reports of interest from Premier League giants Liverpool, while both Real Madrid and Barcelona have also taken a liking to the ex-Dortmund star.

Los Blancos are looking to add the Real Sociedad star as they get set to move on from the ageing duo of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, reports El Nacional. In addition, the lack of representatives from Real Madrid in the Spanish national team is something that president Florentino Perez is keen on addressing.

However, Real Madrid’s chances of signing Merino might be slim, as the report indicates that the midfielder would prefer to join Barcelona instead. The 25-year-old believes that the arrival of Xavi as the new manager increases his chances of making the switch to Camp Nou, as he has received positive feedback from the Barca head coach.

In addition to that, Spain national team manager Enrique has also advised Merino to move to Barcelona. The former Blaugrana boss has told the midfielder that he would be an ideal fit at Camp Nou, further swaying the Real Sociedad star’s mind towards a move to Catalonia.

Signing Merino, however, will not be straightforward as he comes with a release clause of €60million, something that could be beyond the means of Barca.