World Cup star Abel Ruiz waiting for Barcelona to offer him a new contract
The player wants to stay but has offers from elsewhere
It's up to Barça to tie him down and tell him he has a future
Abel Ruiz's future at Barcelona is not completely clear. It's clear what his intention is: he wants to stay at Barça, because he's happy. But there's always the need for more.
During the U17 World Cup, Sergio Barila's phone was going off non-stop. He is the representative, for example, of Villarreal's Colombian striker Carlos Bacca, but the calls weren't about him. They were about Ruiz, another player he has, and his contract situation. The next step was to listen to the offers.
That was a possibility everyone was aware of. Everyone except Barcelona. Before the World Cup, Barila himself spoke with Barça about the player's desire to renew his current deal, which is up in 2019. But the club didn't seem in a rush to do anything and Ruiz went to India without renewing.
And what was always going to happen, happened. Abel Ruiz had a brilliant tournament. Until the last game, he was fighting to be the top scorer in the tournament, coming up two goals short. He was the third top scorer in India and, along with another Barça player, Sergio Gomez, was one of Spain's best players as they came runners-up to England.
During the World Cup, Barila didn't tell Abel about what was happening. The teenager was focused on the competition and didn't need any distractions. But the World Cup's over, the forward's back in Barcelona and it's time to affront the situation.
Abel's happy at Barça. Sportingly he has no complaints. The opposite. He's grateful because it's not easy to be part of the B team in the second division aged 17. Gerard Lopez counts on him and he started him on Wednesday against Nastic, days after he'd returned from India.
But Abel is aware that despite being young, he has to think about his future and his family. The forward hopes he can take a step forward at Barça and wants his representative to talk about a new deal. In the coming days, though, his agent will meet with him to tell him about the offers he has on the table. When he hears them, he will begin to think about his future, even though he's clear he sees it with Barça. Will the club want the same?
