Barcelona 'hold crisis talks after Champions League exit'

Barcelona reportedly held crisis talks on Thursday following the club's exit from the group stage of the Champions League.

The La Liga outfit's 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, coupled with Benfica's 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev, meant that the Catalan side finished third in Group E, dropping into the Europa League in the process.

According to Sport, head coach Xavi and president Joan Laporta met at the club's training base on Thursday to discuss how to turn the team's fortunes around.

The report claims that vice president Rafael Yuste, football director Mateu Alemany, CEO Ferran Reverter and director of the international area Jordi Cruyff were also present at the meeting.

Club chiefs are also believed to have discussed plans for the January transfer window, with Barcelona expected to be in the market for new players despite their financial problems.

Frenkie de Jong, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Sergio Dest are allegedly among the first-team players available for transfer at the start of 2022.