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Lionel Messi could stay at Barcelona beyond the season and he is being pressured into doing so.
Barcelona take on Huesca in an important match for the Catalans as they can't afford to slip up anymore if they're to stay in the title race. Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 3 January 2021.
Eric Garcia tests positive for Covid-19 right after agreeing terms with Barcelona
Barcelona have reportedly agreed a five year deal with Manchester City centre-back Eric Garcia. Garcia has entered the final months of his contract at Manchester City and he has remained keen on returning to Barcelona.
The only thing to sort out is whether Barcelona can bring him to the Camp Nou in January itself. They are looking at the possibility of this but at the same time, they won't be willing to shell out a lot of money for a player whose contract expires in the summer. Manchester City had reportedly rejected a €10 million bid from the Catalans in the summer.
However, now Eric Garcia has contracted the coronavirus and is set for a spell on the sidelines. Barcelona want to bring Eric Garcia in to have more cover at the back and a player in recovery is the last thing they want to be dealing with at the moment.
Riqui Puig will not leave, Carles Alena set to depart
Despite rumours suggesting the opposite, according to Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona will not be planning to loan out Riqui Puig and will instead trigger a clause in his contract to extend it till June of 2023.
However, that's not the case with Carles Alena who remains a long way away from convincing Ronald Koeman to keep him at Barcelona. Marca reports that Carles Alena desires to leave the club to get more playing time.
Riqui Puig is also not being afforded much playing time and despite the reports, the players could force their way out of the club in search of more playing time.
Lionel Messi pressured into staying at Barcelona by family
According to Sport, Lionel Messi might yet stay put at Barcelona as he is being pressured into doing so by his family. The report claims that his family does not want to leave Barcelona. Messi has spent all of his professional career so far at Barcelona and his wife and children do not want to leave the city behind.
However, Messi is reportedly holding talks with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and could join Manchester City as a free agent in the summer. As such, there's no saying which way this one is going to go.
