Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany has made a U-turn on his decision to leave for Aston Villa and will now stay at the club, sources have confirmed to ESPN.

Alemany, 60, announced his departure from Barca two weeks ago, with sources telling ESPN he was in advanced talks to join Villa after receiving an offer that was "too good to turn down."

However, following talks with the Barcelona hierarchy this week, he has decided he wants to remain at Spotify Camp Nou to continue building on the work he has done over the last two years.

Sporting director Jordi Cruyff will still depart at the end of the season when his contract expires, though, having officially announced his desire to "embark on new professional endeavours" on Tuesday.

Sources have told ESPN that former Barca and Portugal midfielder Deco will join the Catalan club to work on recruitment alongside Alemany, who has a contract until 2024.

Since retiring, Deco has been working as an agent, with Barca forward Raphinha among the players he represents, but it is thought he will have to give up his agency to take on the new role at Barca.

Alemany joined Barca in 2021 when Joan Laporta was elected president and oversaw a frantic transfer window last summer as the Blaugrana sold club assets to fund the singings of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde, among others.

Working alongside Cruyff, the transfer guru has received plaudits for putting together a squad that has seen Barca secure a first LaLiga title since 2019.

Sources have told ESPN that one of Alemany's biggest strengths was his knowledge of LaLiga's financial fair play rules. Barca are set to spend another transfer window navigating LaLiga regulations in an attempt to strengthen their squad.

Barca need to make cutbacks or raise, through transfer fees, more than €150 million to be able to register new contracts for first-team players and make new signings.

Alemany and Deco will now take on that challenge as Barca look to build on their success in LaLiga this season by taking strides forward in the Champions League following back-to-back group stage exits.

After studying law, Alemany moved into football in the 1990s, working for his local LaLiga side Mallorca, first as chief executive and later as the club's president.

He later joined Valencia, where he was the director of football between 2017 and 2019, helping put together the squad that beat Barca to win the Copa del Rey in 2019.

After two years out of the game, he joined Barca as part of Laporta's backroom team following the latter's election as the club's president for a second time, having previously held the role between 2003 and 2010.

He has faced various financial hurdles while at the Spotify Camp Nou, while also having to deal with the departure of Lionel Messi, but has found ways to strengthen the squad while working within LaLiga's strict financial regulations.

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens

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