Barcelona have deleted a club statement bidding farewell to João Félix and João Cancelo because they are still hoping to re-sign the Portuguese duo, a source has told ESPN.
Barça thanked Marcos Alonso, Félix and Cancelo on Sunday for their time at the club, after their respective contracts ended.
Alonso's contract has expired and he has been released, while the loans of Félix and Cancelo, from Atlético de Madrid and Manchester City respectively, also end on June 30.
However, Barça later deleted the names of Félix and Cancelo from the statement and from all social media posts.
A source told ESPN that the reason was because the intention is for both to extend their stay at the club and the statement made it seem as if the door had closed.
Félix, who scored 10 goals in 44 games for Barça last season, returns to Atlético, while Cancelo, who played 42 games, returns to Manchester City for now, although both are at Euro 2024 with Portugal.
However, the Barça hierarchy remains in constant contact with the duo's agent, Jorge Mendes, awaiting clarification of their financial situation this summer.
Barça cannot guarantee the registration of new contracts or signings in LaLiga as it continues to breach the spending limit imposed by the league.
The Catalan club needs to raise money either through player transfers, salary reductions or new sources of income before adding signings to the squad.
Despite that uncertainty, the source confirmed that Félix and Cancelo remain targets following the appointment of new coach Hansi Flick as a replacement for Xavi Hernández.
The ideal would be to bring both back on another loan deal, but the final terms of any deal will depend on how talks with Atletico and City progress.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea left-back Alonso has left the club after two years.
However, there has been no mention of club captain Sergi Roberto, whose contract also expires on Sunday.
A source told ESPN that talks over a new deal are continuing, but Barca cannot promise they will be able to register such a deal with LaLiga.
Roberto has also received interest from other clubs in Spain and abroad and will soon have to make a decision about his future.
