Alejandro Balde has backed away from the idea of leaving Barcelona, in a sudden turn of events, after informing the club’s management of his clear desire to stay and fight to regain his place in the starting line-up.
The crisis began last week when Hansi Flick called on the Spanish full-back to show more commitment and readiness to compete, with Joao Cancelo and Xavi Esparte emerging as options on the left front.
The German coach’s comments further inflamed the situation after he confirmed that Balde possesses great quality, but needs to prove that he can compete and commit 100%. He then left him out of the list of wins over Elche with a clean sheet, explaining that he was not asked to leave, but felt that the player had a lot on his mind.
Following these developments, Catalan press reports said that Balde was beginning to accept the idea of leaving, and Romeros indicated that he had made a decision to look for a new destination, after realizing that it was difficult to regain his starting place after the return of Cancelo and the decline of his participation during last season.
However, as journalist Fabrizio Romano reported on Wednesday, Balde has reversed his decision, and now wants to continue at the Camp Nou, and is not currently looking for a new club, pointing out that his position will not change before the transfer market closes unless a big offer arrives from one of the elite clubs, with the final decision remaining in the hands of Barcelona, who has previously explored the possibility of selling him.
The first practical sign of a calm in the crisis came with Flick’s decision to bring Balde back to the list for Thursday’s Athletic Bilbao match. “He is part of the team, he has great potential, he has the colors of Barcelona in his heart,” the German coach said, stressing that the player’s participation will be determined by his readiness.
Manchester United emerged as the most prominent interest in the 22-year-old, and reached out to his agent GeorgeMendy to find out the terms of the deal, and his name has also been linked with Aston Villa, Benfica and Manchester City, while Barcelona were ready to consider serious offers and benefit financially from the sale of a La Masia graduate.
Since making his debut for the first team in 2021, Balde has made 166 official appearances for Barcelona, with a total of 11,514 minutes, scoring 3 goals and providing 18 assists, and winning three La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey and three Spanish Super titles, while his contract runs until the summer of 2028.
