Barcelona director Mateu Alemany believes that wonderkid Gavi will pen a new contract and finish his career at the Camp Nou - despite Chelsea's plans to sign him.
Gavi, 18, agreed his first senior contract with Barca last September but LaLiga blocked its confirmation and rejected an appeal due to the club's well-documented financial issues. Still registered as an academy player and with his youth deal expiring this June, the Spanish midfielder would be allowed to leave the Blaugrana on a free transfer in three months' time.
Despite spending more than £400million on new signings during his first 11 months in charge of Chelsea, co-owner Todd Boehly and the Blues' recruitment team have already 'held talks' over a move for Gavi, with a lucrative contract offer being readied. Unfortunately for Boehly, however, Barcelona's director of football has quashed claims that the Spain international is on his way out.
"Gavi renewed at the time for four seasons and he has three more to go," Alemany explained in a recent interview DAZN. "For sure he's going to honour his contract. What's more, we are convinced that not only will he fulfil his contract, he is going to finish his career at Barcelona.
"That's what he wants, what our fans want and what we want. We have absolute peace of mind. The player renewed, we are going to register him for sure, and for our part there is no problem."
Despite the Barca chief's defiant comments, the fact is Gavi officially remains an academy player on the club's books and will become a free agent come June 30 if the situation isn't rectified. LaLiga have told the Spanish champions elect to free-up space in their wage budget in order to meet their salary cap requirements.
Barcelona manager Xavi, who's set to lead the side to their first league title since 2018, has also shut down speculation of a move away, saying last week: "I don't think Gavi would be happy at another club. He has everything here.
"He is 18 years old. He's a key player of our team. For me, he's a footballer that is outstanding. I don't know what he'll decide but I think his future is here at the club."
Winner of the 2022 Golden Boy award - following in the footsteps of Barca team-mate Pedri - Gavi is widely regarded as one of the most exciting teenagers in world football. Already boasting 19 caps for Spain, who he represented at the World Cup in Qatar, the midfield dynamo is known for his tenacious style of play which serves him well in both attack and defence.
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"He is as aggressive in training as in matches," Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen told ESPN. "He doesn't care if the guy next to him is two metres tall, he fights for every ball, which is nice to see. This is what we need and this is why he is very different from the player types we had before.
"This is why he is very, very important for the team and for the group. It's also probably a bit about his mentality. He didn't worry a lot [when promoted to the first team] and this is actually what makes him really, really strong because he doesn't think about the consequences, which is nice. This is what we needed."
