Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde is not among the group of players the club considers “non-transferable” as they continue to work through financial restraints.
As has been the case for a number of summers, Barcelona’s ability to recruit is directly tied to how much space they can create on the wage bill and how much cash is raised through player sales.
Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo are the high profiles player once again linked with moves away. Raphinha, only signed in 2022, is another who could bet let go for the greater good. Robert Lewandowski is too given how much he stands to earn in 2024/25 – a reported €31m.
Virtually everyone could be available for the right price. But AS reports there is a core group of young, mostly home-grown, players who are not for sale. They are Pedri, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi and Fermin Lopez, all La Masia graduates apart from Pedri.
Balde is younger than both Pedri and Lopez and has been an important part of the team since becoming a permanent member of the first-team squad ahead of 2022/23.
The 20-year-old signed a new long-term contract a month into this season until 2028, complete with the same €1bn release clause reserved for Barcelona’s top talent. He was starting pretty much every game across all competitions until a severe hamstring injury ended his season in January.
Balde’s enforced absence saw Joao Cancelo fill in on the left, pushing Jules Kounde out of the centre and back to the right. The void that created handed an unlikely opportunity to the aforementioned Cubarsi, who has grabbed it with both hands despite only turning 17 in January.
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