Barcelona have begun to realize the need for quality in the case of both young stars as well as the veterans in the squad. With both quality and experience combined into one, the Catalans would be able to assemble a team truly ready to take on the rest of the European elites.
At the moment, the priority remains that of recruiting a top-level defensive midfielder to take over the vacancy left by the departing Sergio Busquets. Alongside one of the two captains of the UEFA Champions League final of Istanbul this year, Barcelona now look to bring in the other as well.
According to the latest details provided by Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are keeping their eyes on Marcelo Brozovic, who was the captain of the Inter Milan side that took on Manchester City in the 2023 edition of the Champions League final in Istanbul.
The other captain from the same final was Manchester City veteran Ilkay Gundogan, who has recently been reported to have been signed by FC Barcelona with his unveiling as an official Barca player speculated to take place in the coming week.
With Barcelona now hoping to unite the two UCL finalist captains, they face stiff competition once again from the region of Saudi Arabia who are committed to bringing Brozovic to the Middle East, similar to their failed attempts to do the same with Ilkay Gundogan.
However, just as Barcelona did before, while they cannot compete with the financial muscle of the Middle East, as they offer significant wages to the Croatian midfielder as they did with the German, Barca still offers a much more competitive offer on a sporting level and one that showcases a project willing to fight for immediate domestic and European silverware.
Yet the time frame is one that speaks of urgency. Barcelona will have to move fast by offloading unwanted players in order to create space so that Brozovic can be registered without any problems. Moreover, the player’s agent remains content on ensuring he moves to Saudi Arabia, as the bigger financial offers guarantee his representative higher commissions as well.
Barcelona remain strong in their stance, however, and now the Italian media is attentive of it. If at one point the interest from Saudi Arabia remained definite and the likely destination for the Croatian in their eyes, it is now faced by the consistent pressure from FC Barcelona, who the player reportedly himself favors and wishes to represent.
