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Barcelona 'must cut eight players from first-team squad'

Barcelona 'must cut eight players from first-team squad'
© Reuters
Barcelona must reportedly do away with as many as eight players after La Liga rejected their attempts to register their summer signings.

Barcelona manager Xavi must reportedly cut as many as eight players from his first-team squad in order to register their new signings.

Despite their well-documented financial problems, Barcelona have not been averse to big-money dealings in the transfer market, spending over £100m to acquire Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde.

Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have also arrived as free agents, while a nominal fee was paid to Racing Santander for the services of 19-year-old Pablo Torre.

Barcelona's new arrivals have featured heavily in the club's pre-season period, but the Blaugrana have supposedly failed to register their new signings with La Liga for the upcoming campaign.

Joan Laporta has tried to alleviate Barcelona's financial problems through selling a portion of their TV rights and the club's partnership with Spotify, but the Blaugrana must still do more to field their new faces in La Liga.

Robert Lewandowski is unveiled as a Barcelona player on August 5, 2022© Reuters

According to The Mirror, Barcelona will be forced to part ways with as many as eight first-team players over the coming weeks, with La Liga only allowing the Catalan giants to register a 25-man squad.

Furthermore, with Barcelona's wage bill currently standing at €560m (£472.6m), Barcelona must make an effort to reduce it by a further €160m (£135m).

A plethora of unwanted names have already departed Camp Nou this summer, with Oscar Mingueza, Riqui Puig, Philippe Coutinho, Moussa Wague, Rey Manaj, Ferran Jutgla and Francisco Trincao all moving on.

None of Dani Alves, Adama Traore or Luuk de Jong is still on the books either, while Clement Lenglet has joined Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan, but more departures are imminent.

Manchester United are not giving up hope of a big-money move for Frenkie de Jong, with the Red Devils believed to have agreed a fee in the region of £72m to bring the Dutchman to Old Trafford.

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong in action in July 2022© Reuters

However, the Netherlands international continues to resist Barcelona's efforts to push him out of the exit door while the club still owes him as much as £14m in deferred wages.

At the back, goalkeeper Neto is reportedly in talks over a move to Bournemouth, while Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti's time at the club could be up after the arrivals of Christensen and Kounde.

Right-back Sergino Dest has also been linked with a departure, but Xavi's lack of options in that area of the field could see the USA international stay on, and it remains to be seen if Miralem Pjanic will be a part of the team's plans moving forward.

Strikers Martin Braithwaite and Memphis Depay are widely expected to leave after falling down the pecking order, and the Barcelona hierarchy are allegedly open to offloading Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang amid interest from Chelsea.

Barcelona have not closed the chequebook just yet, though, and a deal to bring Marcos Alonso to the club from Chelsea is thought to be edging closer to completion.

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Written by
Ben Knapton

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11Sevilla176471823-522
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15Getafe173771114-316
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