Xavi told his 'best signing' for El Clasico

Stuart Telford

• 17 Mar 2023 11:09 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona will not be allowed to make any new signings next summer unless they can find €200 million, but their most important player is already on the books and ready to return.

La Liga have told Barca they must reduce their deficit by €200m to even take part next season, by which point they could be defending champions.

The Blaugrana take on great rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday. Win at Camp Nou and they will be 14 points clear with 12 games left to play.

READ: Barcelona could be relegated confirms La Liga president Javier Tebas

Barca had a wobble after Pedri injured his thigh in their 2-2 draw with Manchester United last month, losing two of their six games since, including the second leg against United which knocked them out of the Europa League.

But the youngster is expected back on Sunday, with Mundo Deportivo calling the midfielder "Barca's great signing for the final stretch of the season" and praising his maturity with regards to his recovery.

Pedri planned Clasico return

"The Canary Islander, in consensus with Xavi, his staff and doctors, is ready to play an hour of El Clasico," they report. "As long as he continues as he has done across his last two training sessions.

READ: Xavi wants 'another Pedri' at Barcelona

"Pedri's objective, from the day he suffered injury against Manchester United at the Camp Nou - where he was replaced by Sergi Roberto after injuring the rectus femoris in his right thigh - was to make his comeback in El Clasico on 19 March."

Franck Kessie has taken Pedri's place in midfield in recent weeks, but the Ivorian is likely to make way on Sunday with the 20-year-old former European Golden Boy taking his place.

Pedri is Barca's second-most valuable player per behind Gavi per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, rated at €74.5m while Gavi is €102.3m. Unlike his fellow midfielder, Pedri's contract runs until June 2026. So would Gavi's, had Barca been allowed to register it this season.