According to Sport, Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez spoke to forward Martin Braithwaite in January and advised him to look for a new club. He hasn’t selected him to start at all since, having brought the Denmark international on as a sub twice in all competitions for a total of 22 minutes.
It’s quite obvious that the 30-year-old has no place in Xavi’s plans, but his wages, which are believed to amount to €4 million per season, are apparently problematic for any potential suitor. That includes Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, who are thought to be interested in his services for some time.
Braithwaite joined Barcelona in a rather controversial move from Leganes, in late February 2020, outside of any transfer window. At the time, the Catalan club obtained a special permission from La Liga to replace injured players (Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele at the time) and complete the signing by triggering Braithwaite’s release clause, leaving Leganes with no say in the matter whatsoever.
But what made the deal really controversial was the fact that La Liga denied Leganes the same permission to replace Braithwaite.
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