Barcelona drop out of race to sign superstar midfielder from Bundesliga giants: Reports

Barcelona have ended their pursuit of Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich, according to SPORT. The German midfielder is a long-term target for the Catalans, who view him as the ideal candidate to fill Sergio Busquets' shoes at Camp Nou.

Kimmich's contract with the Bavarians expires at the end of this season, which makes him a lucrative option for the LaLiga giants. The prospect of signing someone of his caliber for free certainly appeals to Barcelona, who have struggled with financial difficulties of late.

The Bundesliga giants remain eager to tie him down to a new deal, but the player is yet to respond to their offer. The situation is ideal for the Catalans to snoop in and take advantage.

However, the Spanish giants have decided to shelve their plans amid concerns about the player's salary. The 29-year-old is on astronomical wages at the Allianz Arena and Barcelona do not have the finances to hand him a pay package of his choice.

There are also concerns about Joshua Kimmich's character and the club are worried about his track record of creating friction in the dressing room. Instead, the Catalans want to focus on emerging talents at the club like Marc Casado and Marc Bernal.

The former has become integral to Hansi Flick's setup this season and already looks like a future superstar. Bernal, meanwhile, was equally impressive at the start of the campaign, although an ACL injury derailed his season.

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How did Barcelona perform against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey?

Joshua Kimmich

Barcelona hosted Real Betis at Estadi Olimipic Lluis Companys for the Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie on Wednesday, January 15. The Catalans arrived at the game on the back of three consecutive wins, including the Supercopa de Espana final win over Real Madrid last weekend.

Gavi opened the scoring for the home side on Wednesday as early as the third minute, finishing from a Dani Olmo flick. Jules Kounde got into the act in the 27th minute, latching on to a Lamine Yamal ball to make it 2-0.

Barcelona had two goals ruled out by VAR, before Raphinha made it 3-0 in the 58th minute. Ferran Torres came off the bench to join the goalscorers, finishing from another wonderful Olmo ball in the 67th minute. Lamal found the back of the net eight minutes later, before Vitor Roque scored from the spot to make it 5-1.