Barcelona are close to tying Sergio Roberto down to a new deal, reports say. Roberto will continue his career at his boyhood club, but several others, including La Masia graduates Riqui Puig and Oscar Mingueza, will leave.
Barcelona and Sergio Roberto are in agreement over the renewal of the player’s contract, reports Mundo Deportivo. The Spaniard, who has been with Barca throughout his senior career, will sign a one-year extension over his current deal, which was set to expire this summer.
Previously, it was reported that the Spaniard was attracting interest from rivals Atletico Madrid. As per the report, however, he wanted to continue playing for his boyhood club and, therefore, agreed to a significantly lower wage than the one he was earning before.
Roberto spent three years in La Masia before graduating to Barcelona B in 2009. The versatile full-back spent four years with the reserve team, sporadically linking up with the senior squad. He has been a part of the first team since 2013 and has accumulated over 300 appearances for his boyhood club, despite missing most of the current campaign due to injuries.
While Roberto will get to continue at Barcelona, this summer will see the exit of several first-team players. Manager Xavi Hernandez confirmed that several players will leave the club, including academy pair Riqui Puig and Oscar Mingueza, both of whom are on their way out after they were deemed surplus to requirements. Meanwhile, the club would also be willing to listen to offers for striker Martin Braithwaite and centre-back Samuel Umtiti.
As per Sport, Barcelona have set Mingueza’s price between 5 to 10 million euros but are open to using the defender as a makeweight in a separate deal; Valencia were linked with the youngster in January. The same publication claims that Celta Vigo are interested in signing Puig, whom Barca could let go for 5 million, but it remains to be seen whether the Galician outfit would be willing to match their demands.
