"Sergio Busquets was leaving so I asked them to sign Zubimendi and they told me no for financial reasons. To summarise briefly, I'd say my expectations of the club decreased over time. I signed for Barca thanks to him [Laporta], but he ended up letting me down."
"At that time, Zubimendi was playing for Real Sociedad, where he had built a strong reputation as one of the most consistent defensive midfielders in La Liga. He won the 2024 European Championship and the 2023 UEFA Nations League with Spain, and earned a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."
Former Barcelona manager Xavi revealed in an interview that the club's board blocked his attempts to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad to replace departing midfielder Sergio Busquets. Xavi identified Zubimendi as the ideal candidate, but Barcelona officials rejected the proposal citing financial difficulties during a period of economic scrutiny at the club. Zubimendi, an accomplished defensive midfielder with significant achievements including a 2024 European Championship win and Copa del Rey title, eventually joined Arsenal for £60 million. Xavi expressed frustration about the rejection and broader internal conflicts with president Joan Laporta, stating his expectations of the club diminished over time and that he felt betrayed despite being brought back to save Barcelona.
#barcelona-transfer-saga #martin-zubimendi #xavi-management #financial-constraints #arsenal-transfer
Read at Goal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]