Barcelona Prepare to Sanction Mass Player Exodus Despite La Liga and Copa del Rey Successes

Barcelona are set to wield the axe on a host of first team players this summer as the club shape up to defend their league and cup titles next season.

The Blaugrana have had a great season, and Ernesto Valverde has to come in for a lot of credit for delivering immediate success after taking over last summer.

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Champions Barca are still unbeaten in La Liga and have just two games to go until the end, but despite such a convincing showing on the face of things, club officials still want to sell a number of players this summer and bring in better replacements.

As reported by Sport, those at risk of the chop include Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne, Paco Alcacer, Denis Suarez, Aleix Vidal, Rafinha, Munir El Haddadi and Gerard Deulofeu - though whether they actually all bite the dust or just a handful do remains to be seen.

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Gomes is particularly likely to leave the Nou Camp after failing to convince since his big money move from Valencia in 2016. The Portugal star was expected to issue more of a challenge to Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, but failed to dislodge either from the starting line up.

Club legend Iniesta may be leaving at the end of the season, but they did sign Philippe Coutinho in January, meaning it could be more of the same for Gomes - who has only appeared half as much this term as he did in his debut season for Barca.

It is likely the Catalans want to overhaul their squad in a bid to win back the Champions League. The Spanish giants have been knocked out of the competition at the quarter-final stage in each of the last three seasons, and have had to watch rivals Real Madrid exert their dominance.