Sergi Roberto's future at Barcelona up in the air

Sergi Roberto's contract extension seemed to be almost a given. But the arrival of Hansi Flick has thrown everything up in the air.

Up until recently, it seemed that the only thing left to make his extension official was a signature.

However, his future now hangs in the balance.

Xavi Hernandez was a big proponent of Sergi Roberto but with him leaving, his role within the team is no longer certain.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Sergi Roberto has been told by the club that if he wants to renew, he is going to need to be patient and may have to accept the real possibility that he may not be registered to play in LaLiga if Barcelona don't make some headway in their current financial situation.

Barcelona's economic state is well documented and will need to maneuver in order to register players. Sergi Roberto isn't the only one in this situation as Iñigo Martínez could see himself faced with the same issue as well.

The club is currently re-negotiation their deal with Nike which could go a long way to resolving this part of the problem.

In addition to the conditions laid out by Mundo Deportivo, the opinion of new manager Hansi Flick will also be taken into consideration.

He may not see Sergi Roberto as someone who fits into his plans. Given his age and Barcelona's situation, using some of those resources on Sergi Roberto instead of on a player he is going to count on is unwise.

With the likes of Joshua Kimmich and Martin Zubimendi as the objectives to reinforce the center of midfield, the impending renewal of youngster Marc Casadó and the eventual return of Gavi, there is going to be overbooking in midfield. Frankly, even if Barcelona opt for an in-house solution at pivot, they are going to have better options in midfield than Sergi Roberto.

At this point in time, Sergi Roberto's future is looking more likely to be away from Barcelona with Relevo reporting that his camp is already studying other potential options.