Casado begins to consider a future away from Barça

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Marc Casadó
1.190.000€+60.000€    6

J1

MD

10

The academy product, highly valued by the blaugrana fans, has always made clear his desire to succeed at the club. His sense of belonging to the culé cause, his path through the youth ranks, and his performances whenever he has had minutes have kept him as a respected player within the Barcelona set-up.

For a long time, Casadó maintained that the Barcelona “will have to throw me out”, a line that reflected his wish not to move. Now, with 22 years old and after a season in which he had less of a role than expected, he is starting to accept that he may need minutes away from the club in order to keep growing.

The sporting situation does not help. Hansi Flick counts on Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Marc Bernal in the first line in midfield, while Olmo and Fermín appear as options for the attacking midfield role. With Casadó, that makes seven players for three positions, and the German coach does not see him as a priority piece.

The arrival of Bernardo Silva could speed up the scenario

FC Barcelona

Barcelona is close to closing the signing of Bernardo Silva, who would arrive on a free transfer after his contract ends with Manchester City. The Portuguese has put off any decision until after the World Cup, although he already has an initial agreement with the blaugrana club for the next two seasons.

His arrival, though, would depend on a departure from the squad. Bernardo can play as a midfielder and also on the right wing, and Flick would already have given the green light for his arrival as long as space is freed up in the group.

In that context, Casadó comes into play. If he ends up having to leave, his preference would be to do so on loan, without fully breaking the link with the Barça. The midfielder does not rule out earning a place in the future with quality minutes in the first team.

His recent track record explains the change in scenario. He made his debut under Xavi Hernández in the 2022-23 season, and at the end of that campaign he already weighed up a move due to the lack of opportunities. Flick wanted to see him in pre-season and ended up keeping him, given the numerous absences in midfield.

In his first year under the German coach, he took part in 36 matches and racked up 2,447 minutes. This season, despite playing almost the same number of games, 34, his time on the pitch has dropped to 1,397 minutes.

Last summer, there were already clubs keeping an eye on him. Aston Villa and Wolverhampton enquired about him from the Premier League, while Atlético de Madrid has always maintained an interest. In recent days, the option of Monaco has also emerged, where he would line up alongside Ansu Fati, and from Saudi Arabia they have not lost track of him. His representative is Jorge Mendes, with plenty of ability to move players and a close, fluid relationship with Barcelona.