There’s a catch, however. (Isn’t there always when the current Barcelona setup is concerned?)
What Xavi was able to do, as with Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso, when he persuaded Kessie to ignore other offers and to risk joining a club that steering very close to the financial rocks on a consistent basis, was grab a highly prized young player for free — at least without a transfer fee. Each of the three men have, pound for pound, performed exceptionally well given that Barcelona have won one trophy, look sure to lift the Spanish title and, on Wednesday, could qualify for the Copa del Rey final.
The sad thing for Kessie — and indeed for Christensen — is that there’s a club debate at board level, but involving Xavi’s point of view too, about whether there’s greater value in moving on those who came in on free transfers for considerable fees. Barcelona’s debt (still well over €1 billion) is horrific, but they are even more hamstrung by LaLiga’s financial fair play (FFP) regulations, which are so stringent that the club is not allowed to boost Gavi’s salary from a junior (low six figures) to a first-team level. As a result, he will be a free agent this summer and could choose to join any other big club in Europe where his wages would be six figures per week — not per annum.
One of the ways to address that could be to transfer, say, Kessie and Christensen for a combined €80 million, thus easing the FFP restrictions and helping the seemingly nonsensical idea of Barcelona being in a position to repatriate Lionel Messi.
Xavi, rest assured, is dead against the idea of losing either man, but the situation is extremely grave. Startling measures are called for.
That, thankfully for Christensen and Kessie, is a matter for future weeks. Right now, it’s important for the Ivory Coast international, who some of his teammates address as “Mr. President,” to train exceptionally and see whether he’s on that team sheet at the Camp Nou when his favourite rivals come calling.
Oh, and by the way, it’s not because of the “Mr. President” nickname that he gives a military salute whenever he scores. The moniker comes from his AC Milan days when, mistakenly, he parked in the president’s spot at the training ground and was gently teased with the nickname thereafter — and it’s stuck.
“I had just started at the club and every day, when I arrived for training, I would just park in the first space I saw,” Kessie said. “So this day, I get to training and park my car as usual. Then I see the security guard running towards me waving his hands about. It turns out that I’d parked in the president’s space without realising. The lads in changing room had a good laugh at my expense when they heard about it. They couldn’t believe it.”
No, the salute is something very different. More meaningful.
“I always salute when I score as a tribute to my dad, who was a soldier and who passed away when I was a young kid,” he said. “I know he’s watching over me and I think he’d be very proud of me, especially when I score goals.”
If Madrid see Kessie saluting on Wednesday, it’ll be very bad news. Again. If Barcelona see it, either it’ll be a sign that the likeable midfielder is becoming indispensable to Xavi or ripe for transferring as far as the real club president is concerned.
Only time will tell.
