Sergi Roberto is one of the two Barcelona captains whose current contract with the club expires at the end of the ongoing season.
While Busquets is believed to leaning towards an exit and a move to the MLS, Roberto is prioritising staying put at Spotify Camp Nou, claims journalist Toni Juanmarti
Roberto was close to leaving Barça this past summer, with his contract on the verge of expiry. The club administration had doubts about offering a renewal due to his recurring injury problems.
However, manager Xavi Hernandez convinced the Blaugrana to hand him a one-year extension, with Roberto happy to reduce his wages by 50% in order to continue his journey at his boyhood club.
Roberto even started the new season solidly, putting in some impressive performances before he dislocated his shoulder in October. Prior to that, the 30-year-old had scored and assisted two goals apiece from 12 matches across all competitions.
The club’s coaching staff is said to be happy with the versatile right-back. However, the sports management team will wait for a while longer before deciding whether to offer him a new contract or not. They intend to see how he performs over the course of the next few months after returning from injury.
Roberto, too, is aware that it is too early to discuss about his future even though his wish is to remain at Barcelona beyond 2023. Having recently returned from injury, the 30-year-old intends to focus on his performances and becoming an important player for the team.
It is claimed that he believes he can earn an extension from the club based on three factors: his performance, his low salary, and his versatility.
However, the update from Toni Juanmarti mentions that the Spaniard would not be willing to take another pay cut after having sacrificed a significant chunk of his wages earlier this year to renew with Barça.
Roberto believes that there is no more room left for him to consider another downward renewal and if Barcelona were to ask him to take another cut, the right-back would listen to offers from elsewhere.