There is a second Ilaix case. Less media today, but just as thick. Barça has not summoned Alejandro Balde (18-10-2003) to start the preseason with the first team this Saturday. Balde, who has been in the Barça quarry since 2011 after spending a year at Espanyol, where he arrived from Sant Gabriel, he was called to be the substitute for Jordi Alba after the farewell of Júnior Firpo to Leeds and if there was no incorporation. In fact, Barça had dispensed with Miranda to make room for the Catalan side. Collado, Nico and Balde were the big three club bets for the first team next season.
However, something has changed. Y, as in the case of Ilaix, it has to do with a contractual matter. Alejandro Balde, advised for a few months by the superagent Jorge Mendes, has not renewed a contract that expires in June 2022. As in the case of Ilaix, Barça has made a proposal that has been rejected and the club's plan, which has decided to take this position of force, is that Balde, like Ilaix, do not start the preseason with the first team to pressure. It will be necessary to monitor how this new policy works for the club that has started with Mateu Alemany and with the approval of the president, Joan Laporta.
Wonders are spoken of about Balde. Lateral with travel, it is also very fine and has a good touch. Forced to improve his defensive performance, until recently he was seen as the left-back of the future at Barça. Now, as in the case of Ilaix, it is anyone's guess.