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Barcelona have received a major boost as one of their injured players has resumed training.
Barcelona have been rocked by the arrests of club officials and others, including former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, as new details of the BarcaGate scandal come to light. There is plenty going on both on and off the field as the club continues to find itself in a difficult financial condition in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 2 March 2021.
Jean-Clair Todibo seeking permanent Barcelona exit
Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo is currently on loan with Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice. He has now admitted that he does not care about the goings-ons at his parent club.
Todibo has admitted that he would like to see Nice and Barcelona strike a deal for him as he doesn't want to return to Catalunya. Speaking to the press ahead of Nice's game against Nimes, Todibo said he strongly hopes he can stay at Nice.
He said:
“I don’t know if it is sorted (for next season), but it is an ambition of mine. So I strongly hope it happens. My individual performances will determine if I stay here or not. Nothing is done.”
On what is happening at Barcelona, Todibo said:
“Without lying to you, I am not strongly interested in what’s going on. I watch matches from time to time when my French colleagues play like Ousmane Dembele, Clement Lenglet or Samuel Umtiti. I watch just because I consider them to be friends. But aside from that I am not necessarily following them.
“I am focused on OGC Nice, that is most important for me. What good does it do to dream of the Barcelona defence when at the weekend I play vs Rennes or Nimes?
“The most important thing is to focus on those matches. They are matches that will bring points for Nice. Today I am a Nice player, I am not a Barcelona player.”
Former Barcelona vice-president says Haaland-Mbappe links are 'irresponsible'
Rafael Yuste, who used to be vice-president under Joan Laporta in the past, has spoken out against Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe rumours, drawing attention to the club's precarious financial condition.
Yuste has urged the club to focus on retaining Lionel Messi, whom he hailed as the 'best in the world'. Barcelona's presidential hopefuls have already made tall claims about potential transfer targets but Yuste, who is looking to return to the role of vice-president, has dismissed those promises as 'irresponsible'.
He told Mundo Deportivo:
“Today, with a debt of 1,173 million, it would be irresponsible to say that we are going to sign Haaland or Mbappe. In addition, we have a squad that can give a lot of joy to the members and a brave coach who bets on young people.
“As we turn around the situation and generate resources, there will be a choice, but now let's support what we have and see how far we can go. Right now we already have the best in the world called Leo Messi.”
Pedri returns to training
Barcelona midfielder Pedri had to be taken off in the game against Sevilla due to a calf problem and it was reported that he is set to miss out for at least a couple of weeks. However, in a surprising turn of events, Pedri has returned to training.
Ronald Araujo, however, is still training individually for the second consecutive day. Pedri's return to training could mean he might just make it to the squad for Barcelona's Copa Del Rey second-leg fixture against Sevilla on Wednesday.
