Barcelona interest in Marc Cucurella has kept the left back\u2019s name in transfer discussions, but any move looks conditional and difficult to complete. Cucurella is a La Masia product and the soon to be 28-year-old Spaniard has suggested the idea holds appeal, telling reporters that \u201cit would be difficult to reject.\u201d He is reportedly \u201cwilling\u201d to start a new chapter, yet the practical obstacles are significant.<\/p>\n
The Catalans must create both funds and a roster spot in Hansi Flick\u2019s crowded squad. That will likely require selling from within, with Alejandro Balde or Jules Kound\u00e9 viewed as the only realistic candidates to free space and generate cash. Barcelona would only consider letting either player go if a major offer arrived, and both currently want to remain at the club.<\/p>\n
Kound\u00e9 recently addressed his future ahead of the 2026 World Cup, saying, \u201cI hope to continue at Bar\u00e7a,\u201d Kound\u00e9 stated, via Marca. \u201cI have a contract until 2030. In my head it\u2019s pretty clear. Right now, with the France national team, these are things that take a back-seat. I\u2019m fully focused on the World Cup until further notice, but I\u2019m a Barcelona player and I hope to continue [at the club].\u201d The club extended Kound\u00e9\u2019s contract last summer after a phenomenal 2024\u201325 campaign, but his inability to reproduce that level in 2025\u201326 cost him the starting right back role and opened the possibility that Bar\u00e7a could cash in to reinvest.<\/p>\n
Balde also lost his starting left back role in the second half of the season to winter loanee Jo\u00e3o Cancelo, whom Barcelona are trying to sign permanently. Balde remains under contract until 2028, making this a potential moment to sell, but he is reluctant to leave his boyhood club and would only be moved by an attractive offer.<\/p>\n
If both Balde and Kound\u00e9 stay, Cucurella\u2019s arrival looks nearly impossible. Barcelona are also prioritising a world-class striker, with Juli\u00e1n Alvarez the leading target after a $116 million (\u20ac100 million) bid was rejected by Atl\u00e9tico Madrid. The club already spent $93.2 million (\u20ac80 million) on Anthony Gordon. Any striker outlay is expected to exceed that sum, and sales will be necessary to balance the books and avoid financial fair play issues that could prevent registration of new signings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Barcelona interest in Marc Cucurella hinges on selling Alejandro Balde or Jules Kound\u00e9. Sales vital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1017,190,172],"tags":[1446,1317,506],"class_list":["post-14196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barcelona","category-chelsea","category-epl","tag-academy","tag-accounts-2025-26","tag-anthony-gordon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}