Deco opens up on key Barcelona duo’s contract negotiations – ‘Everything depends on what they want’ | OneFootball

In his in-depth conversation with Mundo Deportivo, Deco shared insights on several key players in Barcelona’s current squad, with a special focus on Gavi.

The young talent has returned to the field after a lengthy knee injury, and he is slowly regaining his rhythm, gaining more minutes on the pitch.

Deco believes that Gavi is destined to play a crucial role this season under manager Hansi Flick. For Deco, Gavi symbolises the true spirit of Barcelona, capturing the qualities and passion that define the club.

A special player

Deco sees Gavi as an exceptional player with a unique drive, maturity, and determination beyond his years. At just 20, Gavi already displays a level of composure and skill that often resembles that of players in their mid-twenties.

Gavi has shown immense maturity. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

“Gavi is a special player. Gavi’s character and what he has is everything a footballer needs to have. Plus, he’s only 20 and he looks like he’s 26 or 27,” he began saying.

According to Deco, Barcelona is the perfect place for Gavi to flourish, as the club will only grow stronger with young talents like him.

“Gavi has the world ahead of him and I don’t think there’s a better club for him than Barça. I think Barça will also become great with players like Gavi, Pau Cubarsi, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Dani Olmo.”

Contract extension on the horizon

One of Deco’s key priorities is to secure Gavi’s future at the club. Gavi’s current contract runs until 2026, but Deco is confident that the young midfielder will commit to an extended stay at Barcelona.

He believes Gavi, like Pedri, is committed to Barcelona and will remain with the club for years to come, growing and evolving as a cornerstone of their squad.

“Of course, the negotiations are two-fold but going back to what I said before, when a player wants it, it will always be done. Everything depends on what he wants and I imagine that Gavi, like Pedri, wants to be at Barça,” he explained.

Pedri and his extension

Pedri wants to renew his contract. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Moving on to Pedri, Deco also touched upon the progress in Pedri’s contract renewal. He stated that players like Pedri want to stay competitive, aim to win titles and enjoy good contracts.

“Speaking of renewals, first of all in football we know that all players want to have the best contracts and clubs want the best players, but there is one main point for me which is to know what the players want.”

To go for a renewal the first thing you have to know is what the players are looking for, and I think they are looking to win titles, be in a competitive team and, of course, have good contracts.

After a period of hard work to return to top form, Pedri is once again playing at his best. Deco expects Pedri’s renewal to go smoothly, as the player is happy at Barcelona and is driven to make history with the club.

“I thought like that and I think we have players who also think this way. I think Pedri’s renewal will happen because I think Pedri wants to make history at the club, he feels comfortable here, he is happy, he wants to win titles and he is back to his best level after working hard,” he explained.