Marcos Alonso is set to be ‘offered a two-year extension to his Barcelona deal’… just TWO months after joining them on a free transfer from Chelsea after impressing in centre-back role
- Marcos Alonso ‘will be offered’ an extension to his one-year contract
- Alonso has ‘impressed Xavi’ when deployed as a makeshift centre back
- The Spanish international took a pay cut to join Barcelona in the summer
- Barcelona cannot add to their squad in January amid ongoing financial concerns
Marcos Alonso will reportedly be offered a two-year contract extension at Barcelona as the LaLiga leaders continue to juggle their financial constraints.
President Joan Laporta admitted the club would be unable to add to their squad in January.
Alonso signed for the Catalans on deadline day after protracted talks with Chelsea throughout the summer transfer window.
Marcos Alonso (left) ‘will be offered’ a two year extension to his Barcelona contract
The Blues eventually agreed to terminate the Spaniard’s contract, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move in the opposite direction appearing to have been key to an agreement finally being struck.
Alonso had initially requested a three-year contract, according to Marca, with the club only able to offer a single season to comply LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play rules.
The 31-year-old full-back signed a one-year deal at the Nou Camp, with a buyout clause set at £40million, agreeing to sizeable paycut to join.
Barca boss Xavi had reportedly been a keen admirer of Alonso and had pushed for his fellow Spaniard to sign.
Barcelona head coach Xavi has reportedly been impressed with Alonso since his arrival
The club’s hierarchy are claimed to have been impressed by Alonso and are now prepared to offer a contract extension on the same terms.
A final decision is not expected to be made until the end of the January transfer window.
Discussions are expected to centre on whether Alonso will be offered a deal until 2025 or a one-year with an option to extend for a second year.
Alonso, who will turn 32 next month, has made 12 appearances since joining the Blaugrana, and has featured in their last seven matches.
The Spanish international had been signed to play at left-back, but has also been deployed as a makeshift centre-back at times by Xavi, including playing ahead of icon Gerard Pique, who announced his shock retirement earlier this month.
Alonso scored his first Barcelona goal in a 4-2 win over Viktoria Plzen earlier this month
Alonso was one of seven summer arrivals as the Catalan giants spent over £130million to improve Xavi’s side.
To offset losses and comply with LaLiga’s financial fair play rules, the club sold 25 per cent of their domestic television rights and a 49 per cent stake in Barca Studios for more than €700m (£609m).
This allowed Barcelona to strengthen their side with big-name signings including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.
The summer spending has helped Barca push for a first league title since 2019, with Xavi’s side heading into the World Cup break two points clear Real Madrid.
Barcelona President Joan Laporta has admitted the club are unable to make January signings
Alonso, who has been capped nine times by Spain, scored his first Barcelona goal in a 4-2 win over Viktora Plzen earlier this month.
His first Champions League goal was unable to prevent Barcelona from dropping to the Europa League for a second consecutive season, after finishing third in their group behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
The group stage exit dealt the club a crushing blow, with chief having budgeted for reaching the quarter-finals of the competition.
Laporta claimed this week that Barca can’t bring anyone through the door in January because of the current financial restrictions, with the club president appealing to LaLiga chief Javier Tebas to relax their rules.
An extension to Alonso’s deal could signal the end of Jordi Alba’s time at the club, with the club reportedly keen to move on the 33-year-old full-back, along with Sergio Busquets and Sergio Roberto as they seek to repair their finances.
