Barcelona target will leave as free agent in 2026, confirms manager -‘He has already told us…’ | OneFootball

Barcelona’s centre-back department took a massive blow when Inigo Martinez left the club in the summer to move to Al-Nassr, leaving Hansi Flick in a dire situation where he had no option but to adjust to the new normal.

Young Pau Cubarsi has continued as a regular starter for the club in defence, but no partner has complemented him as well as Martinez did.

In fact, the manager has spent much of his valuable time working out the various permutations and combinations, albeit to not much avail.

The club’s priority, thus, continues to be to sign a new centre-back in the summer – one who can serve as a regular starter alongside Cubarsi in the long run – and Crystal Palace’s defender Marc Guehi has emerged as a potential target.

Guehi’s departure is confirmed

Speaking to the media recently, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was asked about the defender’s situation and future at the club, especially given the endless links with clubs from across the world.

In what was a shocking development, the manager went on to admit that Guehi will indeed leave the Premier League side at the end of the season and that his transfer as a free agent was all but confirmed.

Barcelona are interested in Marc Guehi. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

“Marc Guehi has already told us that he will not sign a new contract, so he will leave next year.”

The manager went on to add how he and the entire management desperately wished for the leader to stay and how his decision came as a massive blow to the team.

“Not only me, but the whole club wanted Marc to sign a new contract, and we offered it to him, but he wants something different.”

Guehi’s decision, at this point, is anything but surprising given how he was at the cusp of joining Liverpool in the summer and how it all fell apart in the nth moment, forcing him to stay at Crystal Palace.

For a player who had already made up his mind to leave and take the next step in his career, it is only natural that he furthers his case a year later, although it remains to be seen which of the several elite offers on his table he chooses.

After all, not only Barcelona and Real Madrid but Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Liverpool are said to be interested in his signing.

Source: AS