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Five players left out of Xavi's Barcelona squad for pre-season tour

By Oliver Thomas, Senior Reporter | 11 July 2022

Barcelona head coach Xavi has left out five players for the club's pre-season tour of the United States, including Riqui Puig and Samuel Umtiti.

Barcelona head coach Xavi has left out five players for the club's pre-season tour of the United States.

The Catalan giants are scheduled to face Olot, Inter Miami, Real Madrid, Juventus and New York Red Bulls in the States this month, before facing Pumas at the newly-named Spotify Camp Nou in their final pre-season friendly on August 7.

However, according to reports in Spain, Barca quintet Riqui Puig, Samuel Umtiti, Oscar Mingueza, Neto and Rey Manaj are all deemed surplus to requirements and have been told to find new clubs this summer.

The report adds that Puig, who has just 12 months remaining on his contract, could sign a new deal in the near future but Barca would prefer to sell him or loan him out to gain regular first-team football.

Clement Lenglet has already left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur on loan, while Dani Alves and Ousmane Dembele have seen their contracts expire, although the latter has allegedly agreed a new two-year deal.

Meanwhile, summer recruits Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have both been included in Xavi's pre-season squad, as has Manchester United target Frenkie de Jong who reported back to training on Monday along with 12 other first-team stars who were granted extra time off over the summer.

Ferran Torres is also set to fly with the rest of the squad to the USA despite reporting back to training with a cut in his right foot.