Barcelona hint at summer exit for player as contract negotiations put on hold – Football España

Barcelona have been busy with contract renewals in recent weeks, with several first team players having signed new deals – the latest being Pau Cubarsi, who put pen to paper on Thursday. Before him, agreements were closed with Ronald Araujo, Gerard Martin, Pedri and Gavi.

There should be more negotiations to come too, as the likes of Inigo Martinez, Frenkie de Jong and Wojciech Szczesny have been rumoured with being offered new deals before the end of the season. However, there has been a change to the club’s plans in the last few weeks.

That change has been with Inaki Pena. At the end of 2024, the Spanish goalkeeper was the undisputed number one for Hansi Flick, but now, Szczesny has taken the reins – and he will not be relinquishing them anytime soon. As such, this has seen the situation shift.

Pena has been left disappointed at Flick’s decision to drop him back to being a backup goalkeeper, and because of this, it has been reported in the last couple of weeks that he is considering his future at Barcelona.

According to MD, the plan had been for Pena to join the likes of Pedri, Gavi and Cubarsi in signing a new contract this month, but the change in his squad status has led to things being put on hold.

At this stage, it is not clear whether talks will take place before the end of the season, but if not, there is a strong chance that Pena is sold. Barcelona do not intend to retain players who enter the final 12 months of their contracts, so if the situation is not addressed in the coming months, a departure is expected.

If Pena were to leave, Barcelona would likely look to sign a new goalkeeper, unless they do opt to extend Szczesny’s stay by an additional 12 months. Should that happen, it would be the Polish veteran who acts as Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s backup next season.