FC Barcelona have decided to end their pursuit of Juventus FC forward Alvaro Morata. Manager Xavi Hernandez had earlier been keen on recruiting the Spain international to help bolster his attack, but he has now changed his tune in light of a number of factors.

The Blaugrana were in desperate need of reinforcements on the front line after the retirement of Sergio Aguero due to a heart condition. Several other players contracted Covid-19 in December and others were dealing with long-term injuries.

However, Ansu Fati made his comeback during the Supercopa de Espana semi-final against Real Madrid along with Memphis Depay. Martin Braithwaite is also expected to return from injury soon, and with those players all healthy, Xavi may have enough to last him until the summer. There is also Ousmane Dembele's contract extension which is still in limbo. If he extends, then Barcelona will have a good number of forward players available.

Morata was reportedly contacted directly by Xavi earlier this month, but Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has made it clear that he is not willing to let go of the striker in the middle of the current campaign.

There is another club that is involved in the situation, as Morata in only with Juventus on loan from Atletico Madrid. Earlier reports suggested that the La Liga champions were not keen on allowing their player to join their direct rivals, but have since softened their stance. Despite that, Mundo Deportivo reports that Barcelona are no longer interested in the complicated transfer talks. It remains to be seen if they will approach Morata again in the summer, with many things expected to change within the club in the next few months.

Either way, Barcelona need to offload more players in order to slash their wage bill and make room in their salary cap before they can move forward with any more new signings.

Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata JORGE GUERRERO/AFP
Barcelona FC Atletico Madrid