Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez says he feels liberated after the transfer window closed Hector Bellerin And the Marcos Alonso To become the club’s seventh and eighth contracts in the summer.
Barcelona was one of the busiest clubs in Europe during the window, spending more than 150 million euros Robert LewandowskiAnd the Ravenha And the Jules Conde lonliness.
Barcelona sign Marcos Alonso after Chelsea exit
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Bellerin, Alonso, Andreas Christensen And the Frank Casey They all got free transfers, too, when they were kids Pablo Torri Join from Racing Santander.
More than 15 players have also left the club, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang And the Sergino Dest On Thursday, after letting Xavi feel relieved, he can now work with some certainty on who will be at the club this season.
“I feel a little liberated now, it’s over, and now we know what we have,” the Barcelona coach said at a news conference on Friday.
“It was a fantastic effort and we have a great team to work with.”
Despite this, Xavi hinted that he would have loved more extras. It was revealed earlier in the summer that the club missed the Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta He has never hidden his desire to sign the Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva.
“It was almost the best-case scenario,” Xavi added, referring to the transfer window.
“Can [we are] I’m lacking a player… but nevertheless, I’m quite satisfied with how it went. The club put a lot of effort into realizing the deals we did. I am very happy and grateful for everyone’s efforts.”
The only player left in the club is Jordi Alba. The left-back has been a constant presence on the side over the past decade but has lost his place to teenage Alejandro Baldi recently, while Alonso has arrived to offer more competition.
Despite this, Xavi insists he wants Alba to stay at the Camp Nou after his links with Inter Milan and said he will play an important role this season regardless of whether he starts matches or not.
“I want Jordi here as a captain, but also as someone I have a good relationship with,” Xavi said.
“He is a leader and he will help a lot regardless of that [playing time]. He is committed to the club. I’ll say it again: I’m glad he’s here. I never wanted to leave him.”
Xavi would have liked Aubameyang to stay as well, but understood why the former Arsenal striker, who was relegated to a backup role at Barcelona after signing Lewandowski, would like to return to the Premier League with Chelsea.
Aubameyang, 33, only joined Barcelona in January and left for Stamford Bridge in a €12m deal after scoring 13 goals in 23 games.
“I am sad to see him leave,” said the Barcelona president. “He has given us a lot in such a short time here. He has made the difference in the games, scored some extraordinary numbers, he is a great person, always smiling, and he trains well.
“But it was an opportunity, above all for him, but also for the club. Everyone was happy with the deal but I’m sad to lose a player like him.”
Barcelona are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Seville in La Liga (Live broadcast, 3PM ET, ESPN+). Xavi’s team has seven points from three matches so far, while Seville drew with one point and lost two of its first three matches.
