The Real Betis loanee, along with Cristian Tello and Alex Song, will restart his career with a new club, while Denis Suarez’s return from Villarreal is not yet a done deal
Martin Montoya is not considering a return to Barcelona for the coming season despite the exit of Dani Alves opening up the right-back position.
The academy graduate spent the entire 2015-16 campaign away from Camp Nou, with a loan move to Inter followed by another temporary switch at Betis.
And while Alves’ soon-to-be-completed move to Juventus could aid Montoya’s chances of playing first-team football, Goal understands that he is looking for another club.
The 25-year-old’s contract at Barcelona still has two years to run but in the five seasons since he broke into the senior squad he has made just 67 appearances. “He is only interested in playing,” a source close to Montoya confided.
Barca received several offers for Montoya last summer before agreeing a deal with Inter and similar interest is expected in the coming transfer window.
Betis are keen to add him to their squad on a permanent basis but his high salary demands could price them out. “We are not prepared to match Montoya’s wages at Barcelona, which means an agreement is far off right now,” sporting director Miguel Torrecillo recently revealed.
Montoya is not the only loan star likely to leave Barcelona permanently. Cristian Tello is out of contract on June 30 and could join Fiorentina after impressing on loan, while Alex Song is surplus to requirements.
Alen Halilovic is set to sign for Valencia pending the agreement of personal terms but Barca will have the option to re-sign the Croatian starlet for a set fee in the future.
The expected return of Denis Suarez, who joined Villarreal from Barca with a similar buy-back clause, now appears less certain as salary negotiations continue to stall.
Barca have informed the Yellow Submarine they intend to exercise the €3 million option in Suarez’s contract but RAC1 report that the offer is only valid between July 1 and 15.
If Suarez receives a better offer before that date he is within his rights to accept it and he will consider his options before committing his future to Camp Nou.
