The newspaper 'Marca' reports that Gavi and Ronald Araujo have rejected the new renewal offers that Barcelona have put on the table for them. In both cases, this is the third attempt by the Catalan giants' board. The players and their agents understand that the proposals are too low.
Gavi and Araujo's contracts with Barcelona expire in June 2023 and the club has been dragging its heels on their renewals for months. There have already been three attempts to extend their contracts and all have failed. The last one has taken place this week and the newspaper 'Marca' claims that the players have considered the club's offers to be insufficient.
The club's bosses are trying to reach lower deals in order to safeguard the club's finances. At the same time, they want to tie down in the long term two young professionals who have shown under Xavi Hernandez that they can be key in the near and distant future. In fact, keeping them is one of the coach's priorities.
Over the last few months, Joan Laporta's management have been increasing their renewal offers to both players, although, according to the source mentioned in the first paragraph, they are still not satisfactory for the midfielder and the defender. And this summer is the last chance to sell them, in the extreme case that there is no consensus, so that they do not leave for free next year.
The problem for Barcelona is that the talent of Gavi and Araujo has attracted the interest of certain high-level suitors who could seduce them by taking advantage of this situation. Manchester United, with Maguire at the centre of criticism and a lot of defensive flaws, are following the Uruguayan. Bayern and Chelsea have also been interested in the Spaniard.
Xavi Hernandez's most recent and, at the same time, clearest statements regarding these two players date back to the beginning of this month. At the press conference prior to the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 tie against Galatasaray at the Camp Nou, he openly expressed his desire for them to continue at Ciudad Condal.
"They are two very important players. The club is working well with their agents with the intention of reaching an agreement. We are working and it's a process that sometimes takes a long time because of the interests of both parties. For the club and for the players, an agreement must be reached. We need them to continue because they are two players who are at a high level and have a great future," he said.