La Liga sensation would only consider leaving current club to join Barcelona | OneFootball

Alex Baena has been one of the best players in La Liga over the last 12 months. Since the start of 2024 alone, he has registered 14 assists, and earlier this week, he registered his second international goal for Spain.

Because of his sparkling form, Baena has been regularly linked with leaving Villarreal, his boyhood club. Atletico Madrid are the latest to be rumoured with holding an interest, and he is reportedly considered to be their top target for the 2025 summer transfer window.

However, Sport say that Baena would not be interested in a move to Atleti – equally, he’d also turn down any Premier League sides that come for him, of that there has been several. Instead, the report states that he would only leave Villarreal if he could join Barcelona, whom he considers to be his “dream club”.

There’s no doubt that Baena is a fantastic player, but he would not fit in at Barcelona. The Catalans already have several attacking midfield options, so it would be better to spend the €60m that he’d cost on players that are more needed.