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According to El Nacional, Barcelona have identified former Liverpool star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain among three free signings that they can make in the summer transfer market. It's Barca's sporting directors Deco and Mateu Alemany who have made the decision to focus on these players.
Barca are keen on bolstering their ranks before the start of the 2023-24 season. However, they are in a dire financial situation at the moment and are unable to make big investments in the summer transfer market.
Hence, the club are keen on making cost-effective signings. The El Nacional report suggested that Deco and Alemany have identified three players who the Catalan club could sign for free.
Barca desperately needs a right-back. While they have Pablo Maffeo, Juan Foyth, Benjamin Pavard, and Joao Cancelo in their ranks, the sporting directors have proposed the idea of signing Hugo Mallo on a free transfer.
Apart from that, Barcelona's pursuit of Giovani Lo Celso and Bernardo Silva has also stalled. Deco and Alemany have proposed Oxlade-Chamberlain and Manuel Lanzini as two players whom the Catalan club can sign for free in the summer transfer market.
Jorge Mas proposed the idea of Lionel Messi having a proper Barcelona farewell
While Barcelona fans hoped that Lionel Messi would one day return to the club as a player when the Argentine left in 2021, it seems unlikely now. Messi is currently an Inter Miami player.
The MLS club's billionaire co-owner Jorge Mas, however, wants the player to have a proper farewell from the Catalan club, which Messi never had. Mas recently said (via Barca Universal):
"I don’t know if it will be with some kind of friendly or farewell match. They have the Gamper Trophy, but there will be something, hopefully when the new Camp Nou opens and we want Leo Messi to be able to say goodbye."
He added:
“No, this will not happen, but of course, he deserves his tribute there. And I will do everything in my power to facilitate and help to make it possible because he deserves it.”
Mas, however, dismissed the idea that Messi could make a return on loan to play for Barca. While some fans suggested that the Argentina captain can do that after he completed the MLS live, Mas doesn't think it's a possibility.
