Barcelona have reportedly decided to part ways with club captain Sergi Roberto at the end of the season.
Relevo (via Barca Universal) reports that the Blaugrana have decided not to offer Roberto a contract extension. The Spanish defender’s current deal expires in June and it looks as though he will depart Camp Nou.
Roberto, 31, signed a one-year contract extension with Barcelona last summer. He’s continued to be an asset for Xavi this season, posting three goals and one assist in 14 games across competitions.
However, Barca are prepared to allow Roberto to end a 11-year stay with the Catalan giants. He is set to follow Xavi out of the Camp Nou door and will become a free agent.
Spanish outlet SPORT reported back in October that Inter Miami were considering swooping for Roberto. But, the Spaniard wasn’t interested in the move at the time.
However, Roberto spoke of his ambitions to eventually play in the United States back in 2020. He said:
“I would like to go to the United States in the last years of my career. Barça is the club of my life and competing in Europe I would like to always be here, but I would like an experience in the MLS. I did not imagine that at 28 years old I would be in Barcelona being one of the captains.”
If the Blaugrana skipper were to head to Miami he would be reunited with four Catalan legends. Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez all ply their trade at DRV PNK Stadium.
Sergio Roberto admitted he was still shocked by Lionel Messi’s Barcelona departure
Messi is without doubt one of, if not, the greatest players in Barcelona’s history. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is the La Liga giants’ all-time top goalscorer with 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 games.
Many expected the Argentina hero to end his career at Camp Nou but that wasn’t the case. Messi left the Blaugrana in the summer of 2021 after the club were unable to afford a new contract.
This shocked the football world and the legendary forward was in tears during his farewell press conference. His departure also shocked Roberto who’d spent many years playing alongside the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner.
Roberto didn’t expect Messi to depart and he still to this day doesn’t know what occurred (via GOAL):
“Leo Messi’s departure shocked me a lot. Neither I nor my team-mates expected it. We thought he was going to renew. It’s been a few years now, but nobody knows what really happened in those days. I thought he was going to play here his whole career.”
Messi joined Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Barcelona. He spent two years with the Parisians before joining his current club Inter Miami this past summer as a free agent.
Thank You!