Messi, Busquets, Aston Villa – The reasons behind Mateu Alemany’s Barcelona exit

Last night, the news of Mateu Alemany leaving FC Barcelona at the end of the season dropped like a bombshell. The 60-year-old has been a key member of the rebuild going on at the club under Joan Laporta’s administration and has been instrumental in the transfer deals that they have executed over the past two years.

But, on Tuesday night, soon after Barcelona defeated Osasuna 1-0 at Spotify Camp Nou, they confirmed via an official statement that Alemany will be moving on from the club on June 30, although he will continue to help the team during the summer transfer window.

Following the announcement, several reports came forward shedding light on this sudden decision for Alemany and Barça to part ways at such a crucial juncture.

Lionel Messi’s return

It is no secret that Barcelona are pushing to re-sign Lionel Messi at the end of the season. The fact that his relationship with PSG has completely broken down after recent events only increases the chances of him returning to Catalonia.

And, according to the reliable Helena Condis of COPE, the return of Messi was a major bone of contention between Mateu Alemany and Barcelona. The 60-year-old sports director was not in favour of the former captain’s return as it would compromise the accounts of the club.

Alemany did not see the planning for the next season as clear enough on the sporting side and it played a role in his decision.

Busquets, Roberto’s renewal

Another reported reason behind Alemany and Barcelona going their separate ways, according to Toni Juanmarti (via Reshad Rahman) is that the director was not in favour of renewing the contracts of veteran stars Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets.

Alemany was the more leaning towards bringing young players into the squad, but the club stuck with the idea of renewing the club captains. Roberto has already signed a one-year deal with an option for another 12 months and Busquets is reportedly close to doing so as well.

Aston Villa approach

Apart from not seeing eye to eye on some matters with the board, Mateu Alemany was also the subject of serious interest from Premier League club Aston Villa.

According to RAC1, Alemany did not see the planning for the next season at Barça while he also had doubts about building a competitive team with the club’s salary margin impacted.

Amidst this, Aston Villa approached him with a lucrative offer, along with unlimited budget and complete power over transfer decisions. Furthermore, Unai Emery is also understood to have played a part in convincing the 60-year-old.

On top of that, Helena Condis reports that Barcelona were nowhere in a position to match the offer made by Aston Villa for Alemany, and eventually the two parties reached a friendly agreement to part ways.

The hunt for Alemany’s replacement is already underway with names like Antonio Cordon (formerly of Real Betis) and former Barcelona goalkeeper Jesus Angoy being looked at.

At the same time, Barça might have more concerns as Jordi Cruyff is also evaluating his future at the club, with his contract nearing expiry. Safe to say, the situation is far from ideal with the summer transfer window only a month or so away.