Barcelona have named goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in their squad for Wednesday's Spanish Super Cup second leg at home to Sevilla, amid speculation that the Chile international is close to joining Manchester City.
Mundo Deportivo reported on Wednesday that Barca and City have agreed a fee of €16 million plus extras for Bravo, 33, with the Catalan outlet also claiming that the keeper asked for a move during a recent meeting with Blaugrana sporting director Robert Fernandez.
City keeper Joe Hart, meanwhile, is considering his future at the club, having been benched for their first two competitive games of the new season, with Willy Caballero preferred in goal by new manager Pep Guardiola.
Barca are reportedly moving to line up a replacement for Bravo, with Valencia keeper Diego Alves said to be first-choice and the Mestalla club eager to get the Brazilian off their payroll.
Paris Saint-Germain's Alphonse Areola, who impressed last season on loan at Villarreal, is another potential option, claims Sport, although former Barca player Pepe Reina has moved to play down fears at current club Napoli that he is hankering after a return to the Camp Nou.
The timing of Bravo's move to City also reportedly depends on whether Marc-Andre ter Stegen recovers from a knee injury in time for Saturday's La Liga opener at home to Real Betis.
There had been some hope that ter Stegen might be ready to play against Sevilla on Wednesday, but the Germany international has not been named in Barca's 18-man squad for the game, with Bravo and third-choice keeper Jordi Masip included.
"The Barca squad to face Sevilla in Wednesday's Spanish Super Cup second leg has been announced," a club statement read. "As expected, all of ter Stegen, Andres Iniesta and Jeremy Mathieu miss out through injury, while Brazilians Neymar Jr and Rafinha are still away competing for the their country at the Rio Olympics.
"The only first team player who misses out on a place is Douglas, with Samper and Jordi Alba both being included after sitting out the 2-0 win in the first leg in Andalusia. The full squad is thus as follows: Bravo, Masip, Pique, Rakitic, Sergio, Denis, Arda, Suarez, Messi, Mascherano, Samper, Munir, J Alba, Digne, S Roberto, Andre Gomes, Aleix Vidal and Umtiti."
On the other side, Andres Iniesta won't be able to take to the field himself when Barcelona face Sevilla in the second leg of the Supercopa de Espana this Wednesday, leaving Lionel Messi with the prestige of lifting his first trophy should Luis Enrique's men triumph.
Even though he may have already won every trophy that there is to win with the Blaugrana as a player, the Argentine will be looking to make it his seventh Supercopa since the 2004/2005 season, but this one could be special with Messi able to get his hands on the prize first.
While Spain's most decorated player sits out injured, meaning that he is unable to play an active role in winning what would be his 32nd title during his illustrious career, the armband passes over to their talismanic frontman.
Messi's name is already mentioned alongside the likes of Johan Cruyff in terms of changing Barcelona's history, with the Argentina international helping the Catalan giants reach their most powerful heights since debuting against Espanyol in October 2004.
The 28 trophies won by the attacker puts Barcelona out in front as the best club side in Europe during the current era, with only Bayern Munich able to remotely challenge their silverware haul.
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