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Barcelona are preparing to return to the Champions League this week with a home tie against Antwerp on Tuesday (September 19). Xavi's men have been on a roll this season and come into the game on an unbeaten run in the league.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Balde has agreed to extend his stay at the Camp Nou. Elsewhere, Fabrizio Romano has denied any involvement in Joao Felix's move to the Catalans this summer.
On that note, let's take a look at the major Barcelona transfer stories from September 19, 2023.
Alejandro Balde extends stay with Barcelona
Alejandro Balde has agreed a new deal with Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo. The Spanish left-back is highly rated at the Camp Nou and has been earmarked as the successor to Jordi Alba, who has joined Inter Miami this summer.
The player's existing contract was set to expire at the end of this season, but the two parties had already signed a pre-agreement over the summer. A deal couldn't be finalized owing to the club's poor finances.
However, the Catalans have now managed to free up funds by offloading players and are finally ready to announce the deal. The move could be made official as early as Thursday.
Balde has been exceptional for the La Liga giants and had been generating attention from clubs across Europe. However, Barcelona have now managed to secure his future, effectively ending all speculation.
The player's new deal will run until 2028 and he will have a €1 billion release clause.
Fabrizio Romano denies role in Joao Felix move to Camp Nou
Fabrizio Romano has brushed aside rumors that he played a part in Joao Felix's move to Barcelona this summer. The Portuguese forward arrived at the Camp Nou from Atletico Madrid on a season-long loan on Deadline Day. Romano had first reported that Felix was eager to join the Catalans this summer.
However, in his column for Caught Offside, Romano insisted that his interview with the player had no bearing on the move.
"Joao Felix has started well at Barcelona and some fans have asked me about my ‘role’ in the transfer but I want to clarify that I honestly had absolutely zero role and I don’t want any role into transfers. I just did my job – getting an interview with Joao was a nice scoop but the deals depend on players, agents, clubs and not journalists in my opinion," wrote Romano.
He continued:
"If it hadn’t been me, it would probably have been another newspaper or journalist to get that interview. If Joao got the move to Barca it is because he wanted that strongly, and he sent that clear message. It’s about Joao, not me.”
Felix has hit the ground running since joining the La Liga champions and has already scored his first goal for the club from his first start last weekend.
Xavi wants to carry league performances into Champions League
The Spanish manager has stated that his team must continue their strong start to the season when Champions League football returns to the Camp Nou this week. He took his team back into the premier European club competition by winning the La Liga title last season.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's group stage game, as cited by AS, Xavi added that his team remains determined to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.
"We’re hopeful of taking another step forward in this year’s tournament. Today we have been analyzing the rival. The players are motivated, but we cannot allow ourselves to overthink things. We have to translate what we did on Saturday to this competition," said Xavi.
He continued:
"In my first season, we were unable to compete. Last season, we were able to compete. This season we have to compete and gain results. But we have to be ourselves. Last season we played well, but the results didn’t follow. I think we have a squad that can compete in Europe but we have to show it. We need to compete and fight. The plan is to get to the knockout stage."
Xavi will be keen to make a solid start to the Champions League this week.
