Hi community!
The Barça goalkeeper's contract expires in 2026, the club has not called him up and his unexpected position as a substitute does not suit him.
Iñaki Peña's continuity at Barça beyond 2026 is up in the air. Ter Stegen's injury opened the doors to a starting position for him, but Hansi Flick decided to give it to Szczesny when he arrived to cover the German's absence. The player was scheduled for this February, but now his renewal is up in the air, as MD has reported. For him and for the club.
https://www.fcbarcelona.es/es/noticias/3328520/inaki-pena-renovado-hasta-2026
Iñaki Peña's contract ends next season and in this succession of renewals that the club has launched, the last being Cubarsí's, his name was on the list to enter into negotiations starting this February. The club has not confirmed the meeting, although the intention two months ago was to propose it to him.
Meanwhile, they explain at the club, the goalkeeper is training hard, as he always does, as if he were a starter in the next match. If there is one thing that most of the players in the squad agree on, it is their professionalism and their involvement.
The coach and the player have exchanged impressions on more than one occasion, in more than one meeting. Beyond a sporting decision or preference, acceptable in a professional squad, the forms have clashed. The punishment for being a few minutes late to an activation session, as happened to Koundé, ended with his substitution against Athletic in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The surprise came when it was extended to the final against Real Madrid. There were already two matches and the punishment, as with the Frenchman, had to be limited to one. The expulsion of the Pole cleared the way in the Cup against Betis and in the draw against Getafe in Madrid, but abruptly, without giving any explanation, Flick opted to change goalkeeper against Benfica in the Champions League. There were no reasons or clarifications, not even to the goalkeeper.
The decision was made on the same day and was communicated to the Polish goalkeeper but not to the youth player, who found out about it through the press when he thought he was going to be “number one” in Europe. The news appeared in Poland and was amplified in Barcelona hours before the match. The German coach admitted, in a subsequent talk with the player and other members of his staff, that it had not been the best management, according to sources from the club.
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