The season is over for Barcelona. Since the arrival of Xavi Hernandez as coach of the first team, the team has greatly improved its performance, but it still lacks to be one of the best teams in the world.
The Cules have finished second in the La Liga standings and secured a place in the 2022-2023 Champions League. Barcelona's main goal now will be to strengthen itself in the best possible way to make a great campaign next season.
According to reports, Spanish club officials have already signed two players at zero cost, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie. And they will do their best to sign Robert Lewandowski. However, for there to be new signings, Barça have to free up places in the squad, and Xavi would have already chosen which players will not remain at the club.
The four players who will leave Barcelona
Barcelona need to free up the wage bill to be able to sign new players, and this is a tough job for Mateu Alemany. The club are subject to the 1/4 or 1/3 rule (one or the other is applied depending on whether the player's wage bill represents more or less than five percent of the total). This means that for every three or four euros a player frees up, only one can be invested in a signing.
The Cules have already sold Philippe Coutinho to Aston Villa. His departure freed up around 40 million euros in the wage bill. However, Barça need to release more players, and those who are set to leave the Spanish club are Oscar Mingueza, Riqui Puig, Samuel Umtiti, and Martin Braithwaite.
At a press conference, Xavi said: "They would have few opportunities, and I don't want to keep them unhappy. I found a very good predisposition. They made me emotional by thanking me. You have to be honest and make your intentions known as a club".
Thus, Mingueza, Puig, Umtiti, and Braithwaite have a month and a half before the start of the pre-season to look for a way out that fulfills their expectations.
