It’s going to be a big summer at Barcelona.
After a disappointing 2019/20 campaign that saw them finish trophyless, a lot needs to change at Camp Nou to ensure the club are challenging again next season.
That began just days after Barca were knocked out of the Champions League, with manager Quique Setien given his marching orders.
Ronald Koeman has since replaced him and is already looking to shake things up.
News broke on Monday that Luis Suarez’s contract is set to be ‘terminated’ by the Blaugrana – which came as a shock to many fans.
But he’s apparently not the only top star that will leave Barcelona this summer.
According to The Guardian, three other first-team players have been told they are not part of Koeman’s plans and have been told to leave immediately.
Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Samuel Umtiti have all received similar phone calls to Suarez, during which they were informed that they need to find new clubs and could have their deals terminated.
Koeman certainly isn’t messing around. He’s looking to leave his own stamp on the club and will waste no time doing that this summer.
It’s not too surprising that he wants to move on 33-year-old Vidal and 32-year-old Rakitic, but Umtiti, 26, would have perhaps thought he’d have a future at Camp Nou.
However, Koeman could be concerned about the French defender’s injury trouble since arriving from Lyon in 2016.
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The same Guardian report claims that, while those four players have been told to leave, Philippe Coutinho has been handed a lifeline.
He’s been told that he is part of the new plans at Barca, at least for one more season, following his loan at Bayern Munich.
With pre-season training expected to begin next week, this shake-up will certainly send shockwaves through the squad and it will be very interesting to see what happens next.
