Ex-Barcelona stars did not want club to sign 2 specific players in the 2023 January transfer window - Reports

Sergio Busquets and Ousmane Dembele reportedly stopped Barcelona from signing two specific players in the January transfer window last season.

According to SPORT (h/t Football-Espana), Barca wanted to strengthen the defensive midfield and right-back positions. They earmarked Arthur Melo and Bayern Munich's Benjamin Pavard for the two roles, respectively.

However, Dembele apparently persuaded Barcelona that the France international would be a bad presence in the dressing room. Busquets, meanwhile, supposedly convinced the club that Arthur, who was at Barca from 2018 to 2020, would not be a good leader for the youngsters.

Hence. Barca did not make a loan move for the Brazilian midfielder, who joined Liverpool on a season-long loan deal in the summer of 2022. He eventually fulfilled his loan spell at Anfield before being loaned out by Juventus to Fiorentina for this season.

Busquets, of course, left Barcelona to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami as a free agent at the end of the last campaign. Dembele, meanwhile, made a €50 million switch to Paris Saint-Germain to return to his homeland.

Barcelona ended the January transfer window without any incomings, with Memphis Depay and Hector Bellerin leaving permanently. They, nevertheless, won La Liga but were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League group stage for the second season running.

Barca have signed Ilkay Gundogan and Oriol Romeu to shore up their midfield this season. Joao Cancelo also joined the Camp Nou outfit from Manchester City on a season-long loan deal to fortify the right side of Xavi Hernandez's rearguard.

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Barcelona could rest two key stars for Athletic clash

According to SPORT (h/t BarcaBlaugranes) Barcelona could rest Ronald Araujo and Ilkay Gundogan for their La Liga clash against Athletic Club on Sunday (October 22).

Araujo played the full 180 minutes for Uruguay in their 2026 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL qualifier against Colombia (2-2) and Brazil (2-0 win). Gundogan also started and played the whole 90 minutes for Germany in their friendlies against the United States (3-1 win) and Mexico (2-2) in the USA.

The two players are likely to return to first-team training on Friday, hence the game against Athletic Club could come too soon for them. Barcelona know they have to face Shakhtar Donetsk at home in the UEFA Champions League before they play Real Madrid.

The two El Clasico rivals square up in Catalonia on October 28 in the first El Clasico of the season. Barca have dropped four points in their last three La Liga games, which has seen them drop to third in the standings. They trail leaders Real Madrid by three points after nine games.