The Blaugrana coach addressed growing speculation over the Chilean’s future ahead of their next match in the Middle East
Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde said he is not thinking about Arturo Vidal leaving the La Liga champions amid links to Inter and Manchester United.
Vidal has slipped down the pecking order since Frenkie de Jong’s arrival from Ajax, prompting speculation over his future at Camp Nou, where he has only started four La Liga matches this season.
The 32-year-old Vidal has been heavily linked to a reunion with former Juventus head coach Antonio Conte at Serie A side Inter, while struggling Premier League giants United are reportedly interested.
Valverde addressed the rumours ahead of Thursday’s Supercopa semi-final against Atletico Madrid in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“We’re not thinking about him going to another team,” Valverde told a news conference. “We’ll see tomorrow [Thursday]. In principle he’s with us. No clues.”
Pressed on reported interest from England and Italy, Valverde replied: “Arturo Vidal plays for us and tomorrow he’ll be on the pitch or on the bench.
“We don’t pay any attention to other clubs being interested in our players.”
Vidal swapped Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich for Barcelona in 2018 and the Chilean has since won La Liga and the Supercopa.
He has scored six La Liga goals in 15 matches this season, while the veteran has amassed 20 appearances across all competitions.
The Chile international could add to his appearance tally when Barca square off against for a place in the final against Real Madrid on Sunday.
Valverde signalled his disappointment with the new Supercopa format in Saudi Arabia, accusing organisers of money-grabbing.
“The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income,” Valverde said. “That’s the reason we are all here.
“It’s a completely different format to what we’re used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me that seemed fine.
“It’s been changed and let’s see, it will be judged once it has happened. It’s interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I’m not sure.
“We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year.”
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