Barcelona manager Xavi Hernández has allowed a group of five players to miss the start of preseason scheduled for Monday, July 4 at the club’s training center in the Catalan capital, according to a report from Mundo Deportivo.
Samuel Umtiti, Óscar Mingueza, Riqui Puig, Martin Braithwaite and Clément Lenglet have all been told they can stay home as they continue to look for new destinations. All five players are on Barça’s list of departures. and with the exception of Braithwaite could all have their futures resolved very soon.
Several reports link Umtiti with a return to France, while Mingueza and Puig have been rumored to join various clubs around Europe, mostly in Spain or Italy.