Xavi Hernandez started to right the ship at the Camp Nou last year, but the team still had work to do before it could really take off like it did in the current campaign. Right now, Barça are atop the league standings 11 points clear of Real Madrid with only eight games to go.

While they still have to get the job done, the club would also be thinking about the upcoming transfer window to make even more progress next year. According to reports, Xavi has a former Barcelona striker as a priority target.

Barcelona reportedly see Aubameyang as primary transfer target

According to Sky Sports, Barcelona have made Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang their priority striker target for next season. The Gabonese star had a short but great stint at Barca in the second half of last season, recording 13 goals in 24 games.

Aubameyang had arrived in Barcelona as a free agent from Arsenal in the winter of 2022, but was sold to Chelsea only six months later as the Cules needed to free up space for their summer signings.

However, Auba quickly fell down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, making just 20 appearances this season. Even though he’s under contract with the Blues until 2024, the club will probably let him go at the end of the season.

Barça have a great memory of Auba, so they’d like to bring him back as a substitute of Robert Lewandowski. The other names on their shortlist reportedly are Roberto Firmino, who will not renew his contract with Liverpool, and Vitor Roque, an 18-year-old prospect of Athletico Paranaense.

The Premier League as a whole is projected to lose around £650 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year, which is a decrease from the £1 billion that teams lost in the thick of the epidemic in 2020-21. Chelsea’s deficit in 2021-22 came to £121m, a little reduction from the previous season’s loss of £145.6m, but still a sum that puts them in a vulnerable situation in terms of financial fair play.

Having spent an unprecedented £600 million on new players in Todd Boehly‘s debut season asthe club’sboss, they are very unlikely to return to profitability next season. Thus, as a result of a big buying binge in the previous two windows, the Blues presently have a bloated salary bill and squad.

Which players could Chelsea sell to avoid breaching FFP regulations?

More than £120 million in losses has sent off alarm bells at Stamford Bridge, and the club may be forced to sell off numerous players in order to alleviate their financial woes.It is expected that they might face penalties and a transfer ban if they are found to be in violation of the FFP guidelines.

Thus, the Blues may have to plan the summer trade of numerous players in order to stay on good terms with the league.Players who have fallen out of favor at Stamford Bridge, like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,are expected to be sold this summer.Almost completely forgotten by Graham Potter, the ex-Gabon internationalmight leave in the next months, with his previous side, Barcelona, being mooted as a potential destination.

According to reports, Mason Mount‘s future with the Blues is also up in the air since his contract is up at the end of the summer. Apparently, negotiations for a new contract have stagnated, leaving Chelsea with little choice but to cash in on the midfielder to avoid losing him for free when his current agreement expires.

Similarly, Conor Gallagher, Christian Pulisic, and Hakim Ziyech are likely to go elsewhere for greater challenges. The futures of Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are also uncertain at this point. Since Wesley Fofana has joined the team, Chalobah has been demoted to the bench, and Loftus-Cheek might be sold for a profit. Both players have seen significant playing time under Graham Potter.

One of the most sensational midfielders on Earth right now, Fernandez caught everyone’s attention at Qatar 2022. Not only did he play an instrumental role in Argentina‘s success, but he also won Young Player of the Tournament award.

After pushing hard for so many weeks, the Blues finally agreed to meet his release clause in a last-minute deal. With Enzo’s arrival, Graham Potter had a tough decision to make in regard to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Chelsea exclude Aubameyang from UEFA Champions League squad

Aubameyang was taken out of Chelsea’sUEFA Champions League squad ahead of theround of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund. Potter had to makeroom for new arrivalsFernandez,Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix, and therefore a bunch of players—including Auba—were excluded from the list.

The Gabonese striker had started in all six group stage games, scoring two goals. However, with only one goal in 11 Premier League games, Aubameyang lost playing time under Potter. Now, he’ll have to watch the Champions League action from the sidelines.January signingsBenoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Noni Madueke were also left out.

However, now it’s time to turn the page. The World Cup break is over, the 2022-23 season is back in full swing and Barca have no time to waste. The Cules are currently atop the LaLiga standings, three points clear of rivals Real Madrid.

Even so, there are many games left and Xavi will need depth to take his club back to glory days. Therefore, Barcelona are reportedly considering the idea of bringing back one of their former players.

Report: Barcelona interested in bringing back Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

According to Gerard Romero, Barcelona are interested in re-signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who left for Chelsea in the summer after a great six-month stint with Barca. The Spanish journalist claims the club have asked LaLiga whether Auba’s wage would fit in their salary cap.

However, Barcelona would have to make room for him. Memphis Depay is expected to be on the move this month, which would clear the way for Aubameyang’s return. Fabrizio Romano notes that, while FIFA rules allow the Gabonese striker to play only for Barca or Chelsea this season, this move is only possible if Aubameyang arrives on a free transfer, with different contract terms, and to take Depay’s spot.

It doesn’t look easy, but this could be the best for all, since things haven’t worked out between Chelsea and Auba. On the other hand, the former Arsenal star did great in his short tenure with the Spanish giants. Now, we’ll have to wait and see if he gets to work for Xavi again.

These days these gadgets aren’t quite as intrusive as those of yesteryear, which were shown to have a negative impact on the gameplay of individuals who wore them. They were cumbersome to carry around, blocked too much of the field, and were just plain awful to look at. However, modern protection masks are often constructed from carbon fiber, are very lightweight, compact, custom-made, and printed to fit the player’s face.

Severalplayers have been compelled to wear these masks, which are now tailored to each match, throughout the years, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyangafter arriving atChelsea, as well as AntonioRudiger during his time at the Stamford Bridge;Son Heung-min,Thomas Meunier, Josko Gvardiolat the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and even Robert Lewandowski while featuring for Bayern.

Why do soccer players wear face masks?

All these soccerplayers and many moredo wear masks, but it’s not for show. These masks serve an important purpose in soccer, protecting players who have sustained facial injuries but are eager to return to the pitch and contribute to their team.New technologies mean that athletes who suffer a severe face injury may return to the field quickly while still appearing like a superhero out for payback.

Trauma to the face is referred to as a facial injury. It might be anywhere on the face, including the chin, nose, ears, eyebrows, or skull. All of the aforementioned areas are potential sites of facial injury for a sportsperson.Injuries to the face may occur in any of these areas if a player is struck in the face by another player or hits their face on a hard surface. Injuries to the face may be excruciating, thus masks are often used to alleviate the sufferer’s privacy while receiving treatment.

These masks serve to stabilize and protect a vulnerable or injured facial area, such as a laceration. Protecting lacerations, such as those on the chin or lip, or fractures, such as those on the nose or cheekbone, from becoming worse is the most common application for these items. Burn or compression masks, which are larger, may be used to reduce the appearance of scar tissue, make it more manageable, and preserve face grafts.

If further harm is to be avoided to the face, the black mask is put on. Petr Cech was a good illustration of this point. Since he hurt his skull during a bout by striking it on a pole, he never goes without his helmet for protection.When a player has just sustained an injury to his nasal bone, he may choose to wear the mask to prevent further damage. Demba Ba, another former Chelsea player, is a good example of someone who had to wear a mask while playing due to an injury to his jaw.

After suffering a facial injury while playing, some players choose to use the mask even asa means of recovery. It isintended to compress the facial bones and encourage cementing. When dealing with a facial fracture, a mask is usually necessary. The bone would eventually heal, and the player would be able to return to action after receiving treatment and being shielded from further damage (by the mask). If the player suffers a severe facial fracture, however, he or she will be forced to wear the face mask for the rest of their life.

For the summer, he was Todd Boehly’s eighth new recruit. Given that he just signed with the Spanish powerhouses in January after leaving Arsenal, this effectively ends his brief time in La Liga. The strikerplayed in 24 games across all competitions wearingthe Blaugrana jersey, scoring 13 goals and assisting Xavi’s side in qualifying for the UEFA Champions League this season.

Following the completion of his transfer back to England, Aubameyang will not represent the Spaniards in the UCL, and will instead wear the blue London outfit. Now that he hasbeen given the chance to shine again in the Premier League, he will be donning the “cursed” No. 9 jersey. It was Romelu Lukaku wholast wore it afterre-joiningthe squad for a second stint last season.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s contract with Chelsea

The Gabonese forward has signed a two-year contract until June 2024with an option for another one after completing his €12 million switch at Chelsea, with the Bluessending defender Marcos Alonso to Barcelona in return. Aubameyang has only played eight minutes this season despite having a buyout clause of €100 million included in his contract with the Blaugrana. The Catalan giantsspent about €150 million on new players while being more than €1 billion in debt, prompting the club to attempt to sell some of their stars.

How much willPierre-Emerick Aubameyang make a week?

The amount of money Chelsea will pay Aubameyang still remains unknown, but the former Arsenal star reportedly accepted a salary cut to join Barcelona, earning just £80,000 per week. Compared to his massive £350,000-a-week deal at the Emirates Stadium, this is a significant pay cut.

Even though he took a huge pay cut to make this switch, he was still set to get a substantial raise at the end of the current campaign. With the club already having a lot of difficulties registering players, the pay rise likely made things much more difficult for Barca. By trading Aubameyang, the club eliminated yearly salary costs of approximately €9 million.

His wage at Stamford Bridge, according to the Spanish news site Relevo, would increase by 100 percent. Taking into account the €4.5million (£4.1m) earningsin the previous six months, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would earn about €9million(£8.13m) per year at Chelsea, i.e €750,000 per month or €170,000 (£160,000)a week. That would make it nearly €34,000 a day,or around €4,300 per hour, or €180per minute.

Free agent signing from Arsenal in January saw the 33-year-old banished to the bench after Robert Lewandowski’s arrival. The Gabonesewas released by the Gunnersafter he had a disciplinary dispute with then-manager Mikel Arteta.

Late that night, Chelsea, who needed a striker, made a trade with Barcelona in which theysent the Spanish left-back in exchange. Interestingly, Thomas Tuchel, theformer boss of Aubameyang’s at Borussia Dortmund, has denied any fear for the striker’s demeanor, while the player himself has promised to disregard the club’s infamous number nine curse.

Why Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opted for Barcelona exit andChelsea move

The forward adjusted nicely to his new surroundings in Catalonia. That he finished tied for the league lead in goals with Memphis Depay despite making less than 25 appearances is indicative of this.

However, things became far more difficult for him once Robert Lewandowski arrived. So, after attracting attention from Chelsea, Auba decided to leave. The talks lasted for a good several weeks.

However, what certainly made talks easier was the armedrobbery in his home near Barcelona on early Monday.According to reports, four guys attacked the player in front of his wife Alysha Behague and their twochildren, brandishing pistols and iron bars.

The burglars made off with diamonds when Aubameyang was coerced into opening a safe at the home in Castelldefels, a seaside town south of Barcelona. Both Aubameyang, 33, and Behague, 36, were injured when they were attacked with iron bars; nonetheless, they chose not to seek medical attention so as not to further fear their children.

The house is located near properties still owned by Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, and the incident took place when Aubameyang returned from Barca’s 4-0 win against Real Valladolid on Sunday.

The robbers entered the property via the back entrance and were armed with guns and pipes. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his wife Alysha Behague were tied up with the Barcelona striker being hit by the robbers as they threatened the couple with their weapons.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang robbed in home

According to The Sun, the burglars stole items from a safe along with jewelry and made off in a white Audi A3. The reports do not indicate whether the couple’s two children were in the home when the robbery occurred.

Aubameyang is the latest high profile sports player to be the victim of a robbery in Spain, recently teammate Robert Lewandowski had his watch stolen while leaving a team training and police in Spain recently arrested a group of thieves who targeted high profile soccer players.

Curiously, both went back totheir former teams. With Werner returning to Leipzig and Lukaku going back to Inter Milan, Thomas Tuchel now is short of options up front. In fact, Kai Havertz has been leading the attack though he is not even an outright No. 9.

Therefore, Chelsea reportedly are interested in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is no longer a starter for Xavi since Robert Lewandowski joined Barcelona. However, the Catalans are not letting him leave so easily.

Report: Barcelona let Chelsea know how much to pay for Aubameyang

According to transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona told Chelsea during the weekend they want around €30 million for the Gabonese star, which is a bit higher than expected for the Blues.

Romano adds that Aubameyang is Tuchel’s priority target, as the Chelsea head coach reportedly is ‘pushing’ for his arrival. However, Xavi would also prefer to continue counting on the 33-year-old forward.

Though Lewandowski’s arrival means he will hardly have a place in the starting lineup, Aubameyang is appreciatedat Barcelona. Having joined the club in the deadline day of the winter transfer market, he made an immediate impact at Camp Nou scoring 13 goals in 24 games.

At Chelsea, however, Auba may find more playing time in a league he already knows very well. In four years at Arsenal, he recorded 68 goals in 128 Premier League appearances.

One of the things the German team usually excels at is the great atmosphere in their stadium, Signal Iduna Park. Furthermore, since soccer became professional, money began to play a very important role in the game.

And in recent years, Borussia Dortmund officials have understood that perfectly. The German club often signs players at low cost and sells them for millions, much of that is due to Markus Pilawa, the chief scout at the club.

The 10 most expensive sales in Borussia Dortmund’s history

With the 10 most expensive sales in its history, Borussia Dortmund raised €585,750,000 and only spent €153,790,000 on signing those 10 players. Five are forwards, three are midfielders, and two are defenders.

10. Gundogan

In 2011 Borussia Dortmund paid 5,500,000 euros to FC Nürnberg for Ilkay Gündogan. The midfielder made 157 appearances for Dortmund and, in 2016, joined Manchester City for 27,000,000 euros.

9. Diallo

Abdou Diallo was signed by Borussia Dortmund in 2018 when he was 22 years old. The German team paid Mainz 28,000,000 euros for him. The Senegalese played only 38 games for Borussia Dortmund, and in 2019 he was signed by PSG for €32,000,000.

8. Hummels

In 2008 Der BVB signed Mats Hummels from Bayern Munich for 4,200,000 euros. The Centre-Back was 20 years old. In 2016 Borussia Dortmund sold Hummels to Bayern for €35,000,000. Furthermore, in 2019 the German returned to Borussia Dortmund in exchange for €30,500,000.

7. Gotze

Mario Gotze made his first-team debut for Borussia Dortmund in 2010. He joined Bayern Munich in exchange for €37,000,000 in 2013. However, in 2016 he returned to Dortmund for €22,000,000 before leaving for PSV as a free agent in 2020.

6. Mkhitaryan

In 2013 Borussia Dortmund paid FK Shakhtar Donetsk €27,500,000 for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The midfielder was 24 years old. He played 140 for the German club and, in 2016, signed for Manchester United for €42,000,000.

5. Haaland

In 2020 Erling Haaland joined Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg for 20,000,000 euros. The Norwegian striker played 88 games and scored 85 goals, and in May 2022, Manchester City acquired him for 60,000,000 euros. Haaland is only 21 years old.

4. Aubameyang

In 2013 Borussia Dortmund paid 13,000,000 euros to Saint-Étienne for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The striker played 213 games and scored 141 goals, and in 2018, at the age of 28, he was signed by Arsenal in exchange for 63,750,000 euros.

3. Pulisic

Christian Pulisic was spotted at a tournament in Turkey when he was 16 years old, and Borussia Dortmundmanaged to sign him thanks to his grandfather’s Polish nationality. The American made his first-team debut in 2016. He played 127 games and scored 19 goals, and in 2019 joined Chelsea in exchange for €64,000,000.

2. Sancho

In 2017 Borussia Dortmund signed Jadon Sancho from Manchester City’s U18 team for €20,590,000. The English player was 17 years old. He played 137 games and scored 50 goals.Manchester United signed him in exchange for 85,000,000 eurosin 2021.

1. Dembele

Ousmane Dembelewas 19 years old whenBorussia Dortmund paid Rennes €35,000,000 for him in 2016. The Frenchman played 50 games, and in 2017 Barcelona signed him for €140,000,000.

The Gabon captain’s salary would save the Premier League outfita lot of money, thus they wanted to get him out of the club without paying a transfer price. Despite this, Aubameyang has already established himself as one of Blaugrana’s best players after joining the club a little over two months ago.

After failing to score in each of his first three appearances for the club,the former Borussia Dortmund striker was introduced to the team by Xavi to help him regain match fitness. In the midst of the season, the 32-year-old spent almost two months without playing for Arsenal’s first team before being ostracized by manager Mikel Arteta.

What do Aubameyang, Lionel Messi, and Luis Suarez have in common?

With his latest strike in Barca’s 3-2 win against Levante, he now has 10 goals in his previous 11 games, becoming him the fastest player in club history to reach double digits in goals scored.

It took Lionel Messi38 matches to score his first goal for Barcelona, whereasLuis Suarez needed as many as24 appearances to score his first ten goals for the club. At 14 games, Samuel Eto’o took the same number of matches as Aubameyang did to get there.

Only Ronaldo Nazario (nine games), Romario (nine matches), and Laszlo Kubala had more than 10 goals in a season for the Spaniards(13). It was Aubameyang who ignited Barcelona’s season and played a key role in turning things around for manager Xavi when the season first appeared doomed.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s side has struggled in front of the goal since the departure of their former captain, with just Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah on the first-team roster. Since the start of the calendaryear, the Gunners have netted only 13 goals, one of which came in their most recent game.