Robert Fernández: 'Some players will leave as more will arrive'

The technical secretary Robert Fernández and the Third Vice President Jordi Mestre welcome Paulinho to the Club during his presentation as an FC Barcelona player. At the same time, Robert confirmed “people will leave because there will be arrivals” as work continues on Barça’s squad for the 2017/18 season.

Asked about Liverpool’s Coutinho and Dortmund’s Dembelé, Robert Fernández said they are players the Club likes. This follows on from sporting manager Pep Segura’s comments saying: “They are two players we want to sign as they would adapt well to our style of football, but their Clubs will decide if we can complete the signings or not.”

In this sense, he emphasised the difficulty of signing players who don’t have a buyout clause and the importance of allowing the existing negotiations to arrive at “a favourable conclusion for us and them.”

On Leo Messi’s contract renewal, Jordi Mestre said: “It has all been discussed and only the signature is missing. I would be very surprised if it didn’t go through.”

Robert Fernández also discussed the importance of Sergi Roberto to the squad: “We had a conversation in which we encouraged him to play as well as last year. He is a versatile footballer who can play in lots of positions. He is crucial for Barça.”