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Johan Cruyff urges Manchester United target Thiago Alcantara to leave Barcelona
BARCELONA hero Johan Cruyff has advised Thiago Alcantra to quit the club if he isn't guaranteed first team football next season.
Alcantara, who has a £15m release clause in his contract, has featured in less than 60% of Barca's matches last season.
United are favourites to capture the 22-year-old's signature and heads David Moyes's list of midfield targets as he seeks a long-term successor for Paul Scholes, who retired at the end of last season.
We reported earlier today that Barcelona are plotting an complex swap deal, which would see Wayne Rooney go the other way.
And Cruyff, who has been a revered figure to the Barca faithful, firmly believes Alcantara should leave if he is unable to get regular first-team football.
"People can think what they want but Barcelona are not doing this purposefully," Cruyff told Spanish paper Marca.
"At this point comes the philosophy of the club - you should assign, sell and invest in a player and do it as what you think is right.
"If he really has little chance to play, then he has to go."
Cruyff also wasn't afraid to speak his mind about Neymar's arrival.
In an interview with the same publication, he said: "With Neymar on board, I would have planned for the possibility of selling Messi, and some would agree with that, others not.
"You are talking about a team, its players, the things around it... There are too may things at stake. That's why it's so difficult to manage such a top class squad."