Rashford, Ansu Fati and more: the movements (and stagnations) of Barça in winter

The winter transfer market started extremely hectic for FC Barcelona with the 'mess' of the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor. After a couple of weeks of uncertainty and attempts to resolve this issue through various means, the club finally managed to register them thanks to the precautionary measure granted by the Superior Sports Committee.

From there, and once back in the 1:1 rule after the sale of the exploitation of the VIP seats at Spotify Camp Nou, the Blaugrana entity tried to finalize three departures and a possible addition to strengthen Hansi Flick's team. Due to the 'overbooking' in the defense line, the Catalans wanted to part ways with a center-back to gain salary margin and face the signing of a forward.

The frustrated departures from the defense

The main candidate of the sports management was Eric García, who had a couple of offers from Girona and Como 1907 on his table, but they were deemed insufficient and this, combined with the coach's desire to keep '24' in his ranks, ended up thwarting his departure. 

The stay of the academy player, along with the renewal of Ronald Araujo, put the spotlight on Andreas Christensen, practically unused this season due to his physical problems. The Dane, with a contract until 2026, has never considered leaving the club, but the Catalans have not offered him a renewal and his role in the squad is becoming increasingly marginal. Brentford wanted to take advantage of this situation to sign him, but an untimely calf injury halted negotiations. However, everything points to the defender changing teams in June.

The 'soap opera' of Ansu and the failed signing of Rashford

Finally, Barça tried to convince Ansu Fati to try his luck at a new destination on loan. Clubs like Sevilla, Besiktas, Benfica, and Fenerbahçe showed interest in his situation, but the forward remained firm in his stance of not listening to offers and continuing to wear the Blaugrana colors, although the Catalans are clear that he will not play and that his case will be reopened at the end of the season.

These failed attempts prevented the Blaugranas from freeing up the necessary salary margin to proceed with the operation of Marcus Rashford. Flick communicated to Deco his desire to, if possible, strengthen the attack with a differential player who could serve as backup in case one of the stars of the offensive trio got injured, and the Englishman appeared as a genuine market opportunity.

The player had given the green light to the Catalans and Manchester United was willing to part with him on loan, but the Catalans were forced to throw in the towel just days before the market closed as they could not guarantee that he would be registered. Therefore, they prioritized key renewals to 'secure' the future, with Araujo, Pedri, and Gavi committing to the club for at least five more years.