Mexican star needs European citizenship to stay ahead in Barca's plans.


Plans to solidify Giovanni Dos Santos stay in FC Barcelona are in full gear, with the Mexican being up for a likely EU Passport soon if everything goes accordingly. Dos Santos will help eliminate the three-quota restriction for Barca if the young talent is granted an EU Passport, and can play regularly iwthout giving coach Rijkaard too much mathematics to work out which players will be fielded in order to maintain the three-foreign player at a time requirements of European soccer, which limits the number of non-EU players on the field to three each for a particular team. Already, players like the Ivorien Toure Yaya and Cameroons Samuel Eto'o are classified as non-EU. Dos Santos has risen from the ranks in Barcelona junior side, Barca B and is set to join the senior team category when official hostilites begin in the La Liga and the other competitions in the 2007/08 soccer season including the European Champions League. Giovanni's Barca B teammate, Bojan Krkic need not worry about EU paasport as the young striker is already a European by birth.
Should the EU passport be secured for Santos, the impressive teen will not need to be sent out on loan from Barcelona, but will resume the new season as a bonafide citizen in Europe.