Surprise, Marc Casadó already has a date to leave Barça: 'The decision is...'

Soccer has the ability to be a "meritocratic" sport, but at the same time, it also holds the power of unpredictability. Nothing can be taken for granted in this wonderful world, since what is X one day can be H the next. The passing of the seasons is by no means a linear process, and when we least expect it, the plot takes a dramatic turn and reality changes completely.

Something like this has happened with Marc Casadó. Suddenly, he found himself as part of Barça's first team after having an exquisite preseason following Hansi Flick's arrival. With Xavi, he had barely had opportunities to show his worth in the first team and, in fact, his future seemed far from the culé bubble.

However, last season, already with the German at the helm and thanks to a series of events, he settled into the starting eleven. Flick discovered in Marc Casadó a very valuable midfielder, especially in defensive duties, and he didn't hesitate to include this inexperienced youngster in his plans. The young man delivered, except for a few occasional mistakes due to a lack of experience at the elite level, and it already seemed unquestionable that he was going to be Barça's starting "5" for a long time.

But in the middle of January, in a completely unexpected way, the plot twist arrived. Hansi Flick decided to give Frenkie de Jong another chance, leaving Marc Casadó on the bench, and the gamble worked out so well that he never changed it again. As a result, Marc Casadó moved back to a secondary role and since February, he only started two matches; out of the last nine of the season, he didn't play a single minute in five.

Marc Casadó and his new reality

This season, everything suggests that Flick will use a similar approach. That is, with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri as immovable starters and with Marc Casadó as the third option. In fact, Bernal's recovery, another of the gems who impressed Flick at the start of last season, could push Casadó even further down the pecking order.

To make matters worse, Gavi, one of Flick's and Barça fans' favorites, can also cover either of the two holding midfield positions. Other players like Eric García or Christensen have shown enough versatility to also perform in the deeper areas of midfield. All in all, then, it doesn't seem that Marc Casadó can claim to have the "indispensable" label at Barça.

In this context, El Nacional has reported that if his role remains so secondary in these first months of competition, he will consider leaving in January.

He knows he has a lot of potential to succeed at the elite level of soccer and it seems that at Barça, no matter how much of a culé he is, he won't have the chance to prove it. Suitors won't be lacking; throughout the summer, we've seen how clubs like Manchester United were willing to put up a lot of money for him.

Moreover, it's entirely possible that Barça will once again have to deal with the issue of registrations and require major sales. We saw it last season with Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor.