Barcelona must submit their new revenues as soon as possible in order to be eligible for the opening game of the new season, which is quickly approaching.
And to do that, the Blaugrana must expedite the player departure process and free up space by letting go of players who don’t fit the manager’s intentions.
Oscar Mingueza has already departed the team, while Riqui Puig and Martin Braithwaite may not be far after, with the latter pondering a possible transfer to the LA Galaxy of the Major League Soccer.
And now SPORT is claiming that Xavi Hernandez, the manager of Barcelona, has authorized the exit of two more players, Sergino Dest and Memphis Depay.
At the moment, Dest is Barça’s first-choice right-back. To fill the right-back position, Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, and Sergi Roberto are all potential candidates, although the team is attempting to sign Cesar Azpilicueta.
Dest’s age and contract situation would help the club bring in a lot of money, thus Xavi is eager to trade him.
In addition to the USMNT defense, the Barcelona boss is prepared to approve Memphis Depay’s departure. Since Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha arrived, the Netherlands international has slipped down the food chain.
Depay has been asked to leave and would be willing to leave Camp Nou because regular playing time is no longer a given. He wants to leave Barcelona as a free agent, but doing so would require Barcelona to void his contract.
Tottenham and Arsenal in England, as well as Juventus in Italy, are all showing interest in the 28-year-old. It will be interesting to see if he pushes for Italy or is willing to think about going back to the Premier League.
The big question, though, would be whether the Blaugrana would agree to allow him to go as a free agent with only one year remaining on his contract. However, Xavi has given the club the go-ahead to sell both Depay and Dest for the time being.