FC Barcelona does not win for disappointment. The infirmary has not ceased to be filled with injuries to key footballers such as Alexia, Rolfö, Paredes or Mapi León. In September, Markel Zubizarreta, the architect of the best Barça in history, said goodbye, and after the departure of the sporting director, the next to leave will be Jonatan Giráldez. The Blaugrana coach has decided not to accept the club's renewal offer and will leave the team at the end of the season.
The news was revealed yesterday by Relevo, hours before the traditional Christmas dinner of FC Barcelona with all its professional sections. Giráldez has already communicated this to the board and his staff, but we will have to see how the locker room fits it with the most decisive stretch of the season ahead.
The precarious economic situation of the Catalan club already influenced the departure of Markel Zubizarreta, aware of the difficulties he would have in presenting offers to renew the squad and reinforce it with new arrivals and has now conditioned the continuity of Giráldez, who had much better offers abroad. from Spain.
The Vigo coach had at least one other option on the table to study, but he would have opted for the NWSL, the American league, with a juicy contract. The owner of the Washington Spirit, the team in which American star Trinity Rodman, daughter of NBA legend Michele Kang, plays, recently visited Barcelona. The American businesswoman, who was in the Montjuïc box during the women's classic, is also the majority shareholder of Olympique Lyonnais since last spring.
Salaries in Spain are not competitive and the flight of players that we have seen in recent years, especially to the English league, is also beginning to be replicated on the benches. In the United States there is already a Spanish coach, Juan Carlos Amorós, who this year has been proclaimed champion with Gotham.
The precarious economic situation of FC Barcelona does not help in this context either and the departure of Zubizarreta or Giráldez could not be the last. There will be no cuts in the section, but neither will investment increase, so the wage bill cannot be increased, something complicated taking into account the important renovations that are on the table.
Players like Alexia Putellas, Mapi León, Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina end their contract on June 30, 2024. Furthermore, with Aitana Bonmatí winning the Ballon d'Or, his figure is also revalued, so Marc Vivés has a very complex scenario to manage ahead of him.
