Vilanova makes plea to Manchester United target Thiago Alcantara

Barcelona do not want to lose Thiago Alcantara to Manchester United in the summer.

Manchester United are the club who have been most keenly linked with signing Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona after reports of his buyout clause emerged.

Thiago is one of Barcelona's brightest talents, but even despite this, the queue of players in his path has prevented him from blossoming further.

And looking at the cast of players, it's hardly surprising - Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas are ahead of the 22-year-old in the pecking order.

Due to the fact he has not played a stipulated number of minutes this season, which is written into his contract and said to be around the 60 per cent mark, a release clause of €18 million can be triggered.

Barcelona can't refuse these bids, so their only chance of keeping him is appealing personally to the player.

And that's just what they have done, with Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova upping the ante and increasing the pressure on the young Spaniard.

In tonight's press conference ahead of the final game of the season he urged the midfielder to commit his future to the club.

Calling him 'Barcelona's future' is quite a comment and shows the absolute belief Vilanova has in the player.

The clause exists in his contract because Thiago and his representatives were clearly unconvinced about the commitment of Barcelona towards the player, but this should answer any doubts he has.

What Thiago has to do now is decide how patient he can decide to be, and potentially wait it out to see if Cesc Fabregas moves on this summer and open up his own chances in the process.

He is off on duty shortly with Spain's under-21 squad, and said he will make a decision on his future after that.

Tito Vilanova has just given him plenty to think about.