FC Barcelona faces a serious setback as they definitively plan their squad for next season. There is a starting goalkeeper who is completely excluded from Hansi Flick's project and has no defined exit. The club evaluated several options, but none have proven viable so far.
Deco and the sporting management are working to quickly find a solution that will ease the financial and sporting pressure. The goalkeeper is under contract until 2026, which complicates the operation due to his high salary. Barça's intention is to prevent him from remaining without playing time while earning as one of the squad's top earners.
Deco | FC Barcelona
Interest that vanished in several directions
In recent weeks, several clubs have shown interest in a possible transfer or loan, but ultimately gave up. Celta initially considered bringing him in but opted for another option from abroad. Galatasaray also considered him after his previous loan, although they ended up choosing another goalkeeper.
The teams from Sevilla and Real Betis also didn't end up making any significant contact due to budget limitations and squad quotas. Both teams already have their main goalkeepers renewed for next season. The outlook in La Liga is therefore extremely limited for the player discarded by Flick.
Hansi Flick | @FCBarcelona
One of the most decisive obstacles has been the salary, considered excessive for any offeror with less financial availability. Despite his track record in European competitions, few clubs can take on such a costly contract. Meanwhile, Barça has offered to cover part of the wages if any team is truly interested.
The proposal to financially compensate part of the salary has been communicated to his camp, seeking to unlock an offer. At Camp Nou, they're willing to take on part of the cost if it helps find a viable destination. The urgency is increasing because keeping him without playing time would be an unbearable burden for the sporting staff.
One last option still standing
For now, only one team keeps a real willingness to negotiate his signing. It's a club from the Valencian Community that might need a goalkeeper after a likely departure in June. In this case, recent reports indicate that this club needs to experience a replacement in goal to face the upcoming campaign.
Although talks are ongoing, there hasn't been any progress toward concrete figures or a formal agreement. The coach of that team sees this discarded goalkeeper as a suitable candidate due to his experience in La Liga. However, their limited budget makes it difficult to proceed with the operation without financial support from Barça.
Iñaki Peña at Barça | @inakipenya
Looking ahead to the coming months, this failed signing could blow up the financial strategy of the Barcelona club. Deco sees how the prolongation of the case threatens to block resources that could be allocated to priority signings. For this reason, the urgency to close the transfer increases day by day as the summer market progresses.
Keeping a fourth goalkeeper with a high salary would be a top-level that Barça can't afford. The club's environment has already warned that they won't repeat past mistakes with unused squad numbers, like this footballer's. Everything points to next week being decisive in finding his destination and avoiding a new institutional problem.
After weeks of silence and contradictory information, there is finally certainty. The goalkeeper in question is Iñaki Peña. The Alicante-born goalkeeper, under contract until 2026, is the one at the center of this complicated scenario with no way out.
