Director of Football Deco could not have made it more clear that Barcelona are pioritising contract renewals this summer ahead of big-money signings. It appears they are closing in on two more, with announcements potentially coming as soon as next week.
Deco confirmed that Raphinha, Marc Casado and Marc Bernal would all renew their contracts this summer, and termed a new deal with Jules Kounde ‘probable’. The big remaining deals to address are Frenkie de Jong, Lamine Yamal, Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen, who all have a year left on their deals. According to Sport, Barcelona will announce new deals for Garcia and Inigo Martinez next week. They say manager Hansi Flick has spoken to both to explain his plans for the next two seasons.
Despite extending his contract just two months ago until the end of next season, Barcelona will prolong his stay until the end of Flick’s deal now too. The German manager considers him essential, and wants him to partner Pau Cubarsi for the next two seasons, feeling a strong connection with him. The same economic agreement will be in place.
Raphinha will sign his new deal until 2028 today. @ffpolo
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 22, 2025
Flick’s talks with Garcia included guarantees that he will have a key role in the side, after a first half of the season with little game time. Now established in three different positions though for Flick (central midfield, central defence and right-back), Garcia no longer has doubts about his involvement, and the final details of his contract extension are being settled. The 24-year-old will receive a wage rise, and a deal at least three years long.
On Thursday morning Deco spoke at length about Barcelona’s transfer plans, and confirmed they were delighted with Garcia’s contributions. This season he has played just over 2,000 minutes in 44 appearances, contributing five goals and three assists.
“I have a lot of trust in his agent, Ivan de la Pena, a friend. When he returned from his loan at Girona, he came back much more confident, and I told Ivan, ‘Let him stay here.’ If you have important offers where Eric can play, I understand, but for us, he’s a very important player. It’s not easy to have a great game and then return to the bench. He’s helped us a lot, and of course, we want him to stay.”
