the Argentine midfielder that Xavi Hernández sees as a replacement for Sergio Busquets

2023-04-29 07:55:24

BarcelonaSergio Busquets has not yet said whether or not he will renew as a Barça player. Although the forecast at Sant Joan Despí was that the midfielder of Badia del Vallès communicated his intentions around Sant Jordi, there is still no definitive answer. At this point, and according to sources in the negotiation at the ARA, the unknown has stopped depending on the offer on the table, since the captain knows that he has to pay less due to the difficult situation club finances. There is no room to offer him more than one more season on a very low contract – with 60% less than the current annual emoluments – and the footballer accepts it, so the decision depends on the personal factor, with the options go to the United States or Saudi Arabia while you’re still alive, and what happens with the possible return of Leo Messi.

Busquets will reappear after suspension this Saturday (9 p.m., Movistar LaLiga) at the Camp Nou against Betis, which is the team that plays for one of the midfielders that Barça values ​​to replace him or give him oxygen if the conditions are right necessary It is Guido Rodríguez, one of the key men for Manuel Pellegrini, the coach of the Andalusian team. This season he has accumulated 27 starts in League matches, in which he has played more than 80% of the minutes and adds the goal he scored a few days ago at Osasuna.

World champion with Argentina – but with a very secondary role in Qatar, where he played only one game -, this 29-year-old midfielder is one of the alternatives being studied by Xavi Hernández and the members of the sports area to strengthen the wide area According to the coach’s criteria, the ideal man to replace Busquets is Martín Zubimendi, from Real Sociedad, but his cost – 60 million termination clause – is too high for the institution’s difficulties to meet the fair play financial and forces you to look for other, more affordable profiles.

This is the case of Guido, who is seen internally as a player of immediate performance due to his experience in the League – 108 games in three and a half seasons – and, moreover, his contract expires on June 30, 2024, which opens the leads to the negotiation of a transfer below the market value (28 million, according to the specialized portal Transfermarkt). If the footballer does not renew and Barça closes departures to make salary space, negotiations could begin. At the moment, as they say to ARA from the sports area, there are no firm contacts to deal with his signing, but they do not hide that he is a player they like, while remembering that first you need to know what Busquets will do and with Which one fair play it will count to be able to go after targets like him.

Guido Rodríguez “makes the team play”

Talking to Ariel Holan, one of Rodríguez’s first coaches, you can understand why Xavi and company value his profile. “He is a midfielder who makes the team play. He profiles very well and shines especially when the goalkeeper and central players also have good ball handling. He accelerates the game from the concept. He is not the classic five Aggressive Argentine in the recovery, he stands out more for distributing and building. He can also add to strategy because he’s tall (he’s 1.85 meters),” says the current Universidad Católica de Chile trainer, who directed Guido to Defensa y Justicia after taking him on loan from River Plate , the club he trained in. Before signing for Betis in early 2020, the midfielder had a career in Mexico, first in Tijuana and then in America.

In Seville, the player wanted by Barça met Joel Robles, now goalkeeper of Leeds, who defines his ex-teammate as “a perfect pivot for teams that play in attack, defend very open and need a good balance, balance and good covers.” And he adds: “He is an excellent teammate, a leader in the dressing room and is ready to make the jump to a great team. In fact, the fact that he is in the world champion team shows that.” Holan goes further: “He is a professional of 10. And as a person, a 20. In Defensa y Justicia he was responsible for the good game we did for only six months.” “Guido is ready to play for Barça, which needs all its players to build,” he concludes.