MX23RW : Wednesday, December 18 01:52:12| >> :120:11318:11318:

Sergio Busquets 'among players not wanted by Ronald Koeman at Barcelona'

Barcelona stalwart Sergio Busquets is reportedly among a host of high-profile players who could see his future at the club come under threat if Ronald Koeman takes over.

Barcelona stalwart Sergio Busquets is reportedly one of a number of key players who could see his future come under threat due to the impending arrival of Ronald Koeman as manager.

Busquets has been a mainstay of the Barcelona side for more than a decade, with only Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xavi having made more appearances for the club than his tally of 579.

However, the most recent of those came in the 8-2 obliteration by Bayern Munich last week - a result which is expected to spark a major overhaul of the club from top to bottom.

Quique Setien has already been sacked as manager with Koeman expected to replace him, and El Periodico de Catalunya claims that the incoming boss will consider offloading Busquets.

Koeman is reportedly hopeful that selling a number of the ageing established stars will help to inject new life into the club, and particularly into last summer's signings Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann.

Thirty-two-year-old Busquets is not the only big-name player whose position could be under threat, with Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic and Samuel Umtiti - the latter of whom is the only one under the age of 30 - also in contention to be sold.

Those six players have played more than 1,700 games for Barcelona between them but could now be deemed surplus to requirements with Koeman also likely to be charged with trimming the wage bill.

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Written by
Barney Corkhill
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
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2Atletico MadridAtletico17115131112038
3Real Madrid17114237162137
4Athletic Bilbao1896327161133
5Mallorca188371821-327
6Villarreal167542827126
7Real Sociedad177461611525
8Osasuna176742225-325
9Real BetisBetis176652021-124
10GironaGirona176472325-222
11Sevilla176471823-522
12Celta Vigo176382528-321
13Rayo Vallecano165561819-120
14Las PalmasLas Palmas175482227-519
15Leganes174671523-818
16Getafe173771114-316
17AlavesAlaves174491928-916
18Espanyol1642101528-1314
19Real ValladolidValladolid1733111234-2212
20Valencia152491323-1010


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