Sergi Roberto rejects Barcelona contract offer

Versatile Barcelona veteran Sergi Roberto was expected to stay at Barcelona next season, but has turned down a proposal from the club.

The 30-year-old renewed last summer for a single season, taking a major cut in order to remain at the club after spending most of the last campaign on the sidelines.

His deal up for renewal again and according to Sport, Barcelona were offering him another one-year renewal with the option for a further year, in a deal which would not have affected their salary limit.

However Marca say that Roberto has turned down this offer. The offer was on the same conditions of his current deal, that is to say, close enough to the minimum, but no agreement was found.

Xavi Hernandez is knows him well and the pair were good friends when Roberto came into the side as a younger player, but Xavi now appreciates his versatility. He is also one of just two or three viable options at right-back with Jules Kounde and perhaps Ronald Araujo. Xavi was key in persuading the club to renew Roberto last summer.

At the beginning of January, Roberto said the following.

“Everything remains the same. My desire to continue is the same, we have not started to speak at the club. I am sure that in the coming days or weeks we will speak with the President.”

It still seems he wants to remain at Barcelona, but offering him nearly the league minimum for a second season in a row may well have been a blow to the relationship between the two.