Marc Casado’s Barcelona future clouded by shrinking role as Jorge Mendes explores options

Marc Casado’s future at Barcelona is becoming increasingly uncertain, with the midfielder facing a struggle for playing time next season despite being included in the club’s pre-season tour at St George’s Park.

Casado played 62 minutes in Hansi Flick’s side’s game against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s and is also expected to feature against Preston North End on Monday.

He is due to return to Barcelona on Monday and will have until the end of August to decide whether to remain at the club or consider a move elsewhere.

Flick has made Casado aware that opportunities are likely to be extremely limited. The 22-year-old had hoped Frenkie de Jong’s injury, which is expected to keep the Netherlands international out for several months, might improve his prospects, and he has worked hard during pre-season to take advantage of the situation.

However, Barcelona still have Marc Bernal, Pedri and Gavi competing for the two midfield positions Flick uses in front of the defence to begin the team’s build-up play. Eric Garcia, who can operate in several positions, is another option ahead of Casado. Flick has explained that competition to the player.

Barcelona received an offer for Casado before 30 June but rejected it because they considered the proposed fee too low. The bid was worth about 10m euros, a figure that would have helped the club improve its financial budget for the 2025-26 season.

The Catalan club believe Casado is worth considerably more. They are seeking between 30m and 40m euros for a player who is only 22, has a contract running until 2028 and has already represented Spain.

Casado is fully aware of his position and only needs to examine his recent statistics to understand how his role has changed. During the 2024-25 campaign, Flick’s first season in charge of Barcelona, he played 36 matches and accumulated 2,447 minutes.

Although he appeared in a similar number of games last season, making 34 appearances, his involvement fell sharply. He played only 1,397 minutes, and remaining at Barcelona could lead to an even smaller role.

The club has made that possibility clear to him, but Casado is still resisting the idea of leaving. He has a strong attachment to Barcelona and would find it extremely difficult to depart from the club he joined at the age of 13 from Damm.

His agent, Jorge Mendes, has begun looking for a solution. There has been considerable discussion about interest from Al Hilal, but Casado does not want to move to Saudi Arabia. He has also received some proposals from Turkey, although the midfielder has not considered those offers seriously.

Mendes, one of the most prominent agents connected to Barcelona’s current board, will therefore continue searching for a destination for Casado during the remainder of August.

The situation is complicated not only by Casado’s desire to keep fighting for minutes at the club he considers his footballing home, but also by his wish to remain in Europe. Few clubs on the continent would be able to meet Barcelona’s valuation, yet Mendes will continue trying to find an offer that satisfies the player, the club and all other parties.