Barcelona are getting ready to welcome players back for pre-season training. Several of the club’s top stars have been back training for around a week, but some were given extended holidays because of their involvement in international competition.
Leo Messi decided to return earlier and spent the last week at St George’s Park with Barcelona, a favoured destination for the club and manager Luis Enrique.
Returning now are Claudio Bravo and Marc Andre ter Stegen. Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo points out on page 7 today that there’s a distinct uneasiness between the two goalkeepers. Bravo is first choice for La Liga, and Ter Stegen gets the Copa del Rey and Champions League, neither are content with the situation.
Mundo Deportivo reiterate that Manchester City manager Pep Gaurdiola is keen on signing either. They say Ter Stegen is his first choice because of age, but he also has ‘much confidence’ in Bravo.
Getting either is going to be difficult, and it may be worth waiting until the two Spanish super cup games against Sevilla, and Barca’s La Liga opener against Real Betis, on August 20th, to see who gets picked, and how the other reacts.
