Sergi Roberto has no intention of accepting Barcelona’s latest contract renewal offer, leaving his future at Camp Nou up in the air.
According to Spanish journalist Adria Albets, Barcelona’s hopes of keeping hold of Sergi Roberto beyond the summer transfer window have taken a hit. The 30-year-old utility man is unwilling to accept the latest contract renewal offer, which does not align with the wages the Catalan giants are prepared to pay him.
Sergi Roberto has spent his entire professional career at FC Barcelona. The experienced midfielder, who can also double up as a right-back, progressed through the ranks at the Catalan club’s famed academy, La Masia, before breaking into the first-team setup nearly a decade ago.
Over the years, the 30-year-old has been an asset for all the managers he has played under, with his versatility being his biggest redeeming factor. But Roberto has endured a couple of difficult years at Camp Nou, with a spate of injuries greatly restricting his involvement in the Barcelona first team.
The experienced utility man has managed just 567 minutes of game-time across 12 appearances thus far this season, with a long-term knee injury sidelining him for most of the campaign. At the same time, speculation surrounding Roberto’s Barcelona future has been growing like wildfire in the last few months.
The 30-year-old is in the final few months of his contract with Barcelona and could depart from Camp Nou as a free agent in the summer transfer window. Several clubs within La Liga, including Atletico Madrid, have shown an interest in snapping up the Spanish international in a Bosman move.
But Roberto has held crunch talks with Barcelona over the possibility of extending his stay at Camp Nou. Recent reports have also claimed that the Catalan giants have submitted their contract extension offer to the La Masia graduate, although it does not seem to have done the trick.
According to Adria Albets, Roberto has no intention of accepting Barcelona’s offer, as it does not meet his economic requirements. It will be interesting to see if the Blaugrana will table an improved deal for the 30-year-old utility man or if his illustrious stint with the Catalan giants ends in the summer transfer window.
