The return to training sessions in the preseason is usually synonymous with enthusiasm for players who want to gain prominence for the new season. At Barcelona, who returned to work on Monday with the players who have not had commitments with their national teams, it is nevertheless a time of doubt. A waiting room for many players who know perfectly well that this year they will not count for Ronald Koeman. More than a period of preparation, it is a tense wait awaiting news from your agents. Nobody like Pjanic, Umtiti and Coutinho exemplify this situation.
These three footballers know that their coach does not have them and that their contracts are not acceptable for a board of directors that needs to lighten the salary mass. On this front, the coach and board of directors go to one and that is how it was staged in Laporta's visit to the Barcelona dressing room on the first day of training.
The president made it very clear to the players that “Here the boss is Koeman” in a clear gesture of reinforcing the image and position of the Dutch coach, who was questioned at the end of last year. Forgotten that chapter Koeman has the full support of the board to make decisions and among them is that of not having these players.
Pjanic
Pjanic came to consider only a month ago that if Koeman did not continue his stay at the Blaugrana club, he could have a restart after an absolutely inconsequential first season, but with the current panorama he has already given up any hope of being important on the team.
Signed only one season ago in an exchange operation with Arthur in Juventus in which he was valued at 70 million euros, the 31-year-old Bosnian has a contract until June 30, 2024. Currently, according to the specialized website Transfermarkt its market value has plummeted to 20 million, devaluing by 50 million in just 12 months.
The option of returning to Juventus, a team that has rehired Allegri, the coach who has obtained the best performance, is seen as the only possible way out provided that last summer's trade with another player from the Italian team is undone. . A complicated operation.
Umtiti
The Umtiti case seems even more difficult. The French central defender has once again experienced a course marked by injuries, which complicates his release to the market, aggravating the fact that his salary in the Catalan entity is out of the reach of any team that wants to bet on him.
The 27-year-old Frenchman has three more years on his contract. He arrived five years ago from Olympique de Lyon for 25 million and the Blaugrana club renewed him two seasons ago despite the fact that the club's own medical reports advised against this operation. Now, With an off-market salary and an estimated value of 8 million, he lives under the threat of the unilateral termination of his contract.
Coutinho
With Coutinho, 29, he hopes that a team can accept him on loan. Olympique de Marseille has been interested in the Brazilian who continues to carry the poster of being the most expensive signing in the club's history.
For now, he works out in the gym trying to solve the knee problems that have him in the dry dock since last November. Together with Umtiti and Pjanic, he forms the trio of players who are aware that this preseason that started on Monday is a countdown.