More revelations surrounding the sorry state of affairs at Barcelona have come to light, with the club refusing to play Yusuf Demir due to contract issues surrounding his player appearances.
Demir arrived at Barca on a season-long loan from Rapid Vienna in July and made nine appearances across La Liga and the Champions League.
If he features just once more before the end of January, then the cash-strapped Catalans will be forced to pay the Austrian club £8.5million in a permanent transfer fee – something which they are desperate to avoid, according to Sky Sports Germany.
Barcelona reportedly want to ensure that the fee comes out of next summer’s transfer budget, which has impacted Demir’s minutes on the pitch so far this season.
Despite their desire to seemingly use the winger sparingly, the club wasted one of those appearances by bringing him on for just two minutes in a 1-0 win over Espanyol on 20th November.
He also featured for only nine minutes in a 3-0 victory over Levante in September, with his longest outing coming in the 1-1 draw with Granada earlier that month, as he started the game and played for 75 minutes.
The 18-year-old is now set to spend at least the next six weeks on the sidelines, with Xavi’s side next in action at home to Elche on Saturday, before travelling to Sevilla three days later – the club’s final match ahead of the Christmas break.
Barca currently sit eighth in La Liga with 24 points from 16 games – 18 adrift of league leaders Real Madrid, albeit with a game in hand.
It has been a dismal season so far, following their elimination from this season’s Champions League at the group stages.
They are also facing the prospect of losing Sergio Aguero from the squad, with the Argentine expected to announce his retirement on Wednesday due to a heart problem.
