Alejandro Balde: From Starter to Forgotten Option at Barcelona

Alejandro Balde is stuck in a holding pattern that feels more like a dead end.

The Barcelona full-back has not played a single minute this season. Not a start, not a late cameo, nothing. For a 22-year-old once billed as a cornerstone of Barça’s future, the silence is deafening.

From rising starter to forgotten option

Hansi Flick has made his choice on the left side of defence. Sport report that the coach trusts Gerard Martín and João Cancelo there, pushing Balde into a kind of football limbo — fit, available, but effectively frozen out.

This comes after a turbulent, injury-hit campaign in which Balde missed 10 matches with physical problems and lost rhythm at a crucial stage of his development. Barcelona responded by placing him on the summer transfer market, open to offers but not desperate to sell.

Manchester United tested the waters late in the window. Talks advanced, interest was real, but the two clubs never found common ground on the financial side. Balde himself, tied to Barça until 2028 with a release clause of one billion euros, had no intention of walking away from the Camp Nou. He wanted to stay and fight.

For now, that fight is taking place far from the pitch.

Flick’s hard line

The first warning came on opening day. Flick left Balde out of the squad entirely for the La Liga opener against Elche, judging him not focused enough. It was a brutal signal of where he stands in the hierarchy: behind Gerard Martín, behind João Cancelo, and nowhere near the starting XI.

Weeks later, nothing has changed. Balde has yet to pull on the shirt this season. Among outfield players who are fully fit, only he and Bryan Fariñas have not played a single minute. The two reserve goalkeepers, Ljubičić and Szczęsny, are also still waiting, but that is the nature of their role. Frenkie de Jong and Bardají have not featured either, though both are sidelined with long-term injuries.

Balde’s absence, then, is not about fitness. It is about trust.

Deco backs the player – with a warning

Inside the club, the message is measured but firm. Sporting director Deco addressed the situation on RAC1 radio, insisting there is no internal conflict.

“Nothing has happened, he is our player,” Deco said. “He is 22 years old, he has a big future, and a contract with the best club in the world. He has to compete to play.”

The praise came with a reminder. “Balde suffered injuries, but he was outstanding two years ago. If Balde is in good shape, it is difficult for him not to play with Barcelona.”

The implication is clear: the door is not closed, but it will not be opened for him. He has to break it down himself.

A sharp fall from last season’s status

The contrast with last year is stark. In the 2025–2026 season, Balde began as a regular. He started the first three La Liga matches, logging 222 minutes and looking very much part of the project.

Across the entire campaign, Flick left him on the bench without using him just five times. That total is already close to being matched this season, with September barely underway and Balde still waiting for his first appearance.

What was once a gentle rotation has hardened into a clear demotion.

For a player tied to Barcelona until 2028, with a colossal release clause and public backing from the sporting director, the question now is no longer about talent. It is about whether he can convince Flick he belongs back on that left flank — and how long a club of this size will let such a valuable asset sit on the sidelines.