A year ago, Alejandro Balde showed up for the FC Barcelona tour of the United States without knowing if he would manage to stay. At that time Mateu Alemany had not yet managed to close the signing of Marcos Alonso and the youth squad player arrived as the only alternative to Jordi Alba. Marcos Alonso arrived. But Bucket didn’t go anywhere. He exploded, convinced and sat down Jordi Alba. “I feel very well. I am focused with the same illusion and the same desire. I have to keep learning that I’m very young”, acknowledged the young footballer who came to the United States a year later as one of the key pieces in Xavi’s scheme.
The coach always sees him in the starting eleven, occupying the left wing with complete freedom of movement in attack and defense. “Xavi asks me to be me and to work. I adapt to what he asks of me. We still have to win the Champions League,” he added.
His contractual situation is also on the way to improving. According to this newspaper, the same day the team flew to the United States, Alejandro Balde and Lamine Yamal, both represented by Jorge Mendes, went through Mateu Alemany’s office to seal an agreement in principle for its renewal. If nothing goes wrong, the left-back will continue to be linked with Barça until at least 2028. “There have been conversations and renewal is very close, but it is a matter that I leave in the hands of my representative and the club. I hope it will be resolved shortly,” Balde acknowledged. The intention of the club is that in August, when the team returns from the tour, the agreement can be closed.
Asked about the future of Kylian Mbappé and the information that he could reach Barcelona and that they have already been deactivated, Balde pointed out that “as a player he is exceptional. But I have no idea of ??his future. I am focused on the team and on the tour”. In this sense, he clarified that he is already well from the intestinal virus that has affected the squad and that prevented the team from playing the first preseason game against Juventus. “I feel much better. The team is very good. And nothing, a pity for the fans who could not see the game, but now we are focused on the next one,” he said.
Xavi wants more Buckets. “All the players will start from scratch. They must be prepared”, warned the coach, referring to the group of possible transferable players from the first team and also to the homegrown players who are looking for a place in the first team.
On the list of those chosen who hope to follow Balde’s example are young promises such as Lamine Yamal or Fermín López. Even Ansu Fati, also represented by Mendes, starts from the starting box. This is the situation of each of them.
It was renewed until 2027. He was the second, after Pedri, to have a clause of 1,000 million euros. And in August 2021, after Leo Messi left the entity in tears, the club thought about giving him the number 10. Despite the serious injury to his left knee in 2020 that broke his progress, last year he was the second goalscorer in the squad with 10 goals and fewer minutes. But Fati, whose departure seemed financially necessary for the club, has followed Frenkie de Jong’s example. He doesn’t want to leave. Xavi has rethought it. In a talk with Fati, who brought his vacations earlier and joined on July 15, he conveyed his intentions. He also told her that he should strive to improve his physique. “I get along very well with Ansu Fati. He is like a brother. I’m glad he is here,” said Balde.
It is without a doubt the great bet of the Masia. He turned 16 before traveling to the United States and, like Balde, he went through Alemany’s office to agree on his renewal. He will sign for the next three years. The maximum that can be when dealing with a minor footballer. Xavi’s intention is to give him minutes without forgetting precisely that he is a youth player – the only one who has traveled to the United States – and that he must gradually enter the team without haste but without pause. “Lamine has a lot of quality and has great conditions to be a very good footballer. But he is young and you have to let him grow and be careful,” said Balde.
Fermín López also stands out on this tour. “It has surprised me a lot. He has grit and quality ”, Pedri warned of this 20-year-old midfielder who signed for Barcelona in 2015 from Betis and who went on loan to Linares last year to continue growing. And he did it. He signed a very good season with 12 goals and five assists. During this course he has gained a degree of patience and confidence and his physique has greatly improved. None of this has gone unnoticed by Xavi. The Andalusian is the only player called up for the tour who was not in the subsidiary last season. “Fermín is a player with a lot of quality and he is doing very well. I’ve known him since we were children,” Balde said.
