Marcos Alonso 'will STAY at Barcelona this summer' despite not being registered by the Spanish Giants - with Xavi 'keen to keep' the ex-Chelsea star

Marcos Alonso will stay at Barcelona despite the club's failure to register him for the start of the season, according to reports.

The LaLiga champions are plagued with financial issues which are holding them back from registering Alonso alongside Inigo Martinez, and goalkeeper Inaki Pena.

However, Xavi and the club have informed the former Chelsea full-back he is not for sale and should not pay attention to reports linking him to other clubs, according to SPORT.

The Spanish outlet claim Xavi wants to have two players in each position, with Alejandro Balde the first choice left-back.

Alonso will be given opportunities throughout the season and knows his role in the team as an experience and liked player in the dressing room.

Barcelona have had difficulties registering players for a couple of years now and have been selling off assets - or 'financial levers' - in order to be able to do so.

Last season, they just about managed to register four of five new signings 24 hours before the campaign began.

LaLiga's strict spending rules assign each club a spending cap that applies to first-team transfers and wages, whether that be on players or wider staff.

The spending limit for each club is calculated based off financial data that every team submits some time in advance of the summer transfer window. The data considered includes previous profit and loss, expected income for the coming season, and savings among other factors.

New signing Martinez, who is also currently unregistered after joining from Athletic Bilbao on a free transfer, is without a squad number but could be in line to return from injury and make his debut this week.

After opening the season with a 0-0 draw away to Getafe Xavi's side picked up their first win of the