Surprise twist: Barcelona star moves to leave in the winter
Alejandro Balde is weighing up an exit from Barcelona in the winter window, frustrated by a lack of minutes that has seen him play just 12 of them across 10 matches this season.
According to Sport newspaper, the full-back has already raised the subject with his agent, Jorge Mendes.
Balde initially dug in and insisted on staying, even after Hansi Flick warned him that chances would be hard to come by.
Manchester United were circling at the time, but the defender chose Barca, where his contract runs until the summer of 2028.
His thinking has shifted since. Balde has worked out that he no longer figures in Flick's plans in any meaningful way. He was left out of the squad for the league trip to Elche while the summer window was still open, and although he returned to subsequent call-up lists, his involvement across Barcelona's 10 games has stayed next to nothing.
Twelve minutes in 10 matches. All of them came against Racing Santander with the game already settled and the Catalans 5-2 up.
From the bench, Balde has watched Flick turn to players who aren't even left-footed. Joao Cancelo and Xavi Espart have both leapfrogged him, and the pair are now splitting the minutes between them.
The Portuguese has racked up 386 minutes across eight matches. Espart has 530 minutes in six games, every one of them in La Liga.
Flick has repeatedly stated that Balde is one of his players, while also pointing out that the player himself has to want to fight for a starting spot. That hasn't been enough to stop Balde thinking about the exit door.
Offers shouldn't be a problem. United, keen last summer, could come back for another go.
Two and a half months remain before the window opens, and little suggests his situation will change in that time.
Barcelona's sporting management, meanwhile, have no issue with letting him go, just as they didn't in the summer.
A sale could even fund the one defensive gap they failed to plug in the summer: a left-footed centre-back. Andreas Christensen's injury has left them badly short there.
