Barcelona are reportedly willing to part ways with Jordi Alba during the summer transfer window.
Earlier this month, La Liga president Javier Tebas publicly revealed that the Catalan giants must raise £177m through player sales and cutbacks before they can register any more first-team players.
While a number of fringe members are expected to be sold for varying levels of money, Barcelona will still have to find other ways to generate funds.
According to Sport, that will raise the possibility of the La Liga leaders looking for a solution for club legend Alba.
Since moving to Camp Nou in 2012, the left-back has made 451 appearances in all competitions, 22 of which have been made during the current campaign.
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Nevertheless, Alba turned 34 years of age earlier this week and there is no prospect of Barcelona looking to extend his contract past 2024.
Alba has suggested in the past that he wishes to see out his deal at Barcelona, but Xavi also has Alex Balde and Marcos Alonso at his disposal.
Barcelona officials want to sign the duo to new contracts, the former due to his growing influence and the latter because he was willing to accept a low wage to move to the club.
The report indicates that Barcelona will attempt to offload Alba, aware that he is already owed wages from income that he deferred to help the club in previous years.
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As it stands, it is currently unclear whether Alba is prepared to alter his stance on any of the relevant matters, but he has not made an appearance for Barcelona since February 26.
Furthermore, it is added that Barcelona will still need to sell at least one of their most prized assets to free up space to sign new players.
Ansu Fati is suggested as the best option, although it was claimed recently that the likes of Raphinha and Ferran Torres will also be considered.
Big earners such as Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Frenkie de Jong could also be asked to negotiate a lower contract to help the club's outgoings.
Darren Plant
