Barca to BLOCK Yamal and Cubarsi call-ups over burnout fears

It’s been reported that Barcelona are seeking to prevent both Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi from being called up by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for the upcoming Olympic Games.

The teenage duo have exploded onto the scene for Barca this season with Paris Saint-Germain intending to pay €200 million for winger Yamal as a replacement for Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappe and Cubarsi earning rave reviews in recent weeks.

Having first been called up to train with the squad last year, Cubarsi has been a fixed presence in Xavi’s defence since January and earned a man of the match award on his Champions League debut last week against Napoli.

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The 17-year-old’s form has been so good that Luis de la Fuente, the Spain national team manager, had no qualms about calling him up earlier this week for the friendlies against Colombia and Brazil in the next two weeks.

It’s his maiden call up while Yamal, 16, is already a veteran of four caps, scoring twice.

The RFEF had reportedly been intending to summon the pair for Euro 2024 this summer AS WELL AS the Paris Olympic Games later in the summer.

🚨 Barca wants to prevent a repeat of Pedri's situation in 2021 by stopping Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal from joining the Paris Olympics. While Spanish sports law doesn't allow refusal, but the club will discuss it with the Spanish Federation. @ferrancorreas 🇪🇦 pic.twitter.com/yYpnFWyVMM

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 16, 2024

However, Ferran Correas of Sport reports that Barca will seek to block an Olympics selection over concerns of burnout.

Barca’s burnout fears

The club does not want a repeat of Pedri’s decline, which sees the hotly-tipped superstar-in-waiting struggling to make an impact due to dealing with chronic injury trouble.

On the back of a 53-game first full season for Barca, back in 2020-21, Pedri was named in Luis Enrique’s Euro 2020 squad. He emerged as an undisputed starter, being the fulcrum of the team and earning the praise of watchers all around the continent.

Pedri was then unbelievably called up for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, barely being afforded a week’s rest before flying out to Japan to join his team-mates.

The former Las Palmas player was still only a teenager and ended up playing over 70 matches in one 12-month period and it wasn’t long before the first cracks of injury appeared.

He has since racked up a succession of muscle injuries and is unable to get into a rhythm for Xavi and his side.

Once tipped to take over from Andres Iniesta in the Barca midfield, he has been unable to live up to that potential.

Transfer talks hot up around Yamal and Cubarsi

That is not a risk Barca are willing to take again and, according to the report, plan to talk to the RFEF about it.

Cubarsi has been subject to big transfer interest in recent weeks with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said to be a massive fan of the central defender.

His emergence has also allowed Barca to consider the possibility of selling the in-demand defender Ronald Araujo.

The Uruguayan is out of contract in 2026 with no breakthrough yet reached over a renewal. Having previously been identified as one of club president Joan Laporta’s “untouchables”, Araujo could command €100 million on the open market and permit the new manager to build his defence around homegrown Cubarsi.

Barca are so far refusing to bend to PSG’s will for Yamal but with Laporta out of levers to pull, they may eventually have no choice.