Barcelona news: 30-year-old midfielder distances himself from Camp Nou move

Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has distanced himself from speculations suggesting that Barcelona are preparing a move to take him to the Camp Nou in the near future. The Spaniard joined the Reds from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2020, but has failed to match the level he showed in Germany.

Thiago is a product of the famed La Masia academy and made his breakthrough to the first-team while Xavi was presiding over the midfield alongside Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. The 30-year-old decided to seek pastures new in 2013 and joined Bayern, where he spent seven seasons making a total of 150 appearances before leaving for England.

A return to the Catalan capital has now been mooted for a reunion with Xavi, who is the current manager of the La Liga side, having taken over from the sacked Ronald Koeman. The former Al-Sadd manager is said to be keen to bring Thiago back to the Camp Nou, with reports suggesting a potential January move.

Thiago has completely distanced himself from the speculation, making it clear that he is focused on making a success of his move to Anfield. He is yet to reach the levels expected of him in England, but that has been due to minor injury troubles, which has seen him play as many games as he has missed in the last one and a half seasons with Jurgen Klopp's team.

"I play football. I'm not concerned about rumours," Thiago told reporters, as quoted on Goal. "I'm focused on the duty I have to my team, the contract I have and the new adventure I have here in the Premier League trying to win all the trophies I can."

The former Bayern midfielder only came back into contention for a place in Klopp's midfield recently having spent over a month on the sidelines with a calf injury. He has played in Liverpool's last two Premier League games, and could feature more as the season progresses. He is hoping that his recent work with the physios will ensure that injuries become a thing of the past.

"We tried to avoid all the injury situations with hard work and our daily routines and we changed some things to make that not happen," Thiago added.

Liverpool face Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday, and with passage to the last 16 already secured, the German coach could shuffle his pack with the likes of Thiago expected to start. The Reds face Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday before preparing for the Merseyside Derby against Everton next weekend.