Alejandro Balde’s Future at Barcelona: Manchester United Interested
Barcelona’s squad overhaul is gathering pace, and another big name is edging towards the door.
With Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres already gone and Joao Cancelo on the verge of arriving, Alejandro Balde has suddenly moved from pillar of the project to possible departure. Manchester United, sensing an opportunity, are pushing hardest to take him to Old Trafford.
United move to the front of the queue
According to MARCA, super-agent Jorge Mendes flew into Barcelona this week carrying several offers for Balde and Marc Casado. He first sat down with the club’s sporting director, then met the players to spell out the scenarios in front of them.
Casado’s exit has long felt like a matter of time. Balde’s, though, was anything but certain – until the Elche game.
Left out of the squad entirely, the full-back received the clearest signal yet that his status has changed. That omission raised alarms inside and outside the club, and now Balde has three firm proposals on the table. Manchester United are described as the frontrunners, with two other clubs also pushing to sign the Spain international.
For the moment, people close to the situation insist nothing will be finalised immediately. The expectation is that Balde’s future will take a few more days to crystallise.
Cancelo’s arrival closes the door
The main force driving Balde towards the exit is simple: Joao Cancelo.
The Portuguese defender is set to become Hansi Flick’s first-choice left-back this season. If that happens, Balde’s route to regular minutes narrows dramatically. Combine that with his exclusion against Elche, and the chances of him staying at Barcelona shrink fast, even if the club have not completely shut the door on a possible U-turn.
If Balde does go, Barcelona will have to react in the market. They would need to bring in cover on the left side of defence, but the solution might not be a like-for-like replacement.
The club have long weighed up signing another centre-back, and that option is firmly back on the table. A new central defender would allow Gerard Martin to slide across to left-back when needed, giving Flick more tactical flexibility and easing the blow of losing one of La Masia’s brightest modern full-backs.
Barcelona’s summer started as a reshuffle. It is fast turning into a rebuild – and Balde’s next move could define just how radical it becomes.
