Barcelona midfielder has no plans to leave, convinced he can fight for more minutes | Barca Universal

Earlier this week, reports emerged claiming that Franck Kessie had accepted to leave FC Barcelona this summer after having been told that his game-time would not improve in the upcoming season. The 26-year-old’s agency were quick to refute those reports, branding them unsubstantiated and misleading.

Following up on that, earlier today, Kessie’s representative, George Atangana had a meeting with Barcelona directors Deco and Mateu Alemany.

And now Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Kessie’s agent made it clear to the Barcelona officials that the midfielder has no intentions of leaving the club this summer.

The Ivory Coast international joined Barça only last summer, arriving as a free agent after his AC Milan contract ran down. He signed a contract until 2026 meaning there are still three years left on the deal.

While Kessie made 43 times across all competitions in his debut season in Catalonia, only seven of those were starts in La Liga, indicating where he stood in Xavi’s plans. Now with Ilkay Gundogan arriving, the competition for places in midfield has gotten more intense and is bound to affect Kessie’s minutes.

Despite that, the former AC Milan ace remains convinced that he can fight for a spot in Xavi’s starting XI and has no intentions of leaving the club in the ongoing transfer window.

Kessie believes that the first season was for him to adapt to the new club and the style of play and he is now better prepared to fight for and win a place in Xavi’s lineup.

So, despite interest coming from Inter Milan and clubs from Saudi Arabia, the midfielder does not have any intention to leave the club at the moment. And that is unlikely to change unless there is any big offer from Saudi Arabia that could tempt him to consider leaving Barça.