Author name: admink

Barcelona’s economic viability plan was said to have enough room to accommodate the arrival of Lionel Messi.

According to reports last night, La Liga are unsure about a €40 million transaction that has been registered by the club as cash inflow. A meeting later today will look to sort out the discrepancy that has prevented the league from handing Barcelona the green light.

Joan Laporta does not have much time to waste, however, considering that Messi wants to finalise his future at the earliest. With every passing day, the Argentine doubts his former club’s ability to sign him and he wishes for an official approval from the league.

According to reports from L’Equipe, Barcelona are planning to team up with Inter Miami to sign Messi. While it is at its rudimentary stages, the operation will see the MLS-based club sign the World Cup winner on a free transfer and loan him to Barcelona for one season.

A move to the MLS has always been on Messi’s mind as the perfect way to end his career. The aforementioned project would not only ensure the move to the USA but also a fairytale finish in Catalonia.

The complication, it would appear, lies in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hilal are willing to pay an exorbitant wage to the forward if he moves to the Middle East. The new option, needless to say, has sown the seed of doubt in his mind over a stint in the MLS.

In 31 Ligue 1 appearances for PSG this season, Messi has scored 16 goals and provided as many assists. Further, he averages a whopping three key passes per game and has created 28 big chances.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, as relayed by Diario SPORT, Barcelona are soon set to hold talks with Samuel Umtiti’s agent, ascertaining the player’s future in the coming summer.

Umtiti is coming on the back of a splendid loan spell at Lecce, where he has re-established himself as a top-quality defender. His performances have not gone unnoticed, with even Lecce open to breaking the bank in order to fund a permanent move for the defender.

As per the report, Barcelona officials will meet Umtiti’s agents in the coming days. The two parties will discuss the possible scenario over the summer. The player has already carved out a market for himself following his impressive performances in Serie A this season.

He has become a target for AS Roma and Inter Milan while a potential return to Olympique Lyon has been mooted as well.

Barcelona, for their part, are expected some form of economic premium for the services of Umtiti. They have invested a lot in the player over the years and the player, for his part, has behaved well.

Barça, therefore, are looking to get something out of the deal. Even if the fee is marginal, it will help Barcelona bring in some revenue and most importantly, reduce the salary mass in the squad, thereby helping them register new players.

Apart from Umtiti, Barça are also expected to sanction the sale of other unwanted players in the team including Clement Lenglet and Sergino Dest.

The club are looking for suitors for a few first-team stars as well, including Ferran Torres, even though the Spaniard is looking for a second chance.

The coming weeks could be crucial, as far as Umtiti’s future is concerned. The same can be said for a host of other Barcelona stars as well.

With Barcelona plotting to offload several players that are not in the plans of manager Xavi Hernandez going forward, Ferran Torres finds himself staring at the exit doors.

And, according to a report from Football Transfers, Newcastle United are interested in signing Torres as a possible replacement for Allan Saint-Maximin.

The Magpies have secured qualification for the UEFA Champions League for next season by securing a top-four finish in the Premier League. And they are already planning to reinforce the squad for the challenges ahead.

And with there being some question marks over the continuity of Saint-Maximin, they are understood to be ‘internally discussing’ the possibility of signing Torres to replace him.

Torres joined Barcelona in January last year, arriving in a deal worth €55 million plus add-ons from Manchester City. However, his stint in Catalonia has been a toil thus far as he has been unable to nail down a place for himself in Xavi’s plans.

A return of just four goals from 31 La Liga matches this season is just not good enough and as a result, Barça are looking to offload him.

But, given his form, the La Liga champions are very pessimistic about the possibility of recouping the €55 million they invested in his signing. As such, the report claims that the 23-year-old could be available for €35 million this summer.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is interested in Torres as he has prior experience in the Premier League and a move could be on the cards in the summer.

The former Man City ace, for his part, has maintained that he wishes to stay at Barcelona. But given his lack of game-time, the winger could decide to make the switch, especially with Newcastle also offering him Champions League football.

However, some reports suggest that Barcelona may very well end up retaining Torres if they fail to sign Vitor Roque in the summer. So, it remains to be seen how the situation evolves in the coming weeks.

The 2022/23 season will go down as one of the most happening ones for Barcelona in a very long time. While the club is almost too used to drama, this season, in particular, has been highly topsy-turvy all things considered.

While the Catalans have managed to win La Liga and Spanish Super Cup under Xavi’s first full season as manager, they also dropped out of the UEFA Champions League group stages and then lost to Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League.

Apart from stuff on the pitch, Barcelona also bid goodbye to club legend Gerard Pique midway through the season. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have joined the queue as well and are set to leave the club at the end of the season.

In an attempt to replace Busi, Barcelona have come up with six-name shortlist, according to Gerard Romero. The reliable journalist claims that one of the names on this list is former La Masia midfielder Oriol Romeu.

The Spaniard put in shifts with Barcelona Atletic for three years before moving to Chelsea in 2011. He did not find continuity until he joined Southampton in 2015, though, where he made more than 200 appearances before eventually moving back to Catalunya, to join Girona.

Romeu has been impressive this season for Girona, playing 31 games and scoring two goals. He has been a key cog for the Catalan outfit in their attempt to fight with Athletic Club for a place in the UEFA Conference League next season.

Now 31, Romeu should not cost an awful lot, and would still serve as a rather quality short-term replacement for Busquets.

Barcelona also have the likes of Ruben Neves, Martin Zubimendi, N’Golo Kante, Guido Rodriguez, and Sofyan Amrabat on their radar. 18-year-old Belgian starlet, Arthur Vermeeren of Royal Antwerp, is also being considered.

They have, however, forgotten about signing Joshua Kimmich, who had reportedly offered his services to Barcelona.

Earlier today, Toni Juanmarti made a huge claim, stating that Jules Kounde was open to leaving FC Barcelona in the summer and had given the OK for the club to listen to offers for him.

The report stated that the French international was not happy with being continued to be used as a right-back, even though he was promised to be played at centre-back when he arrived. While he has not explicitly asked to leave, the defender is said to be open to the possibility.

Building on his previous claims, Toni Juanmarti now reports that Barcelona value Kounde around €80 million.

He further claims that the versatile defender has a market in the Premier League, where clubs were interested in his services from his days at Sevilla.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are also looking for a centre-back, but their manager at the moment, Thomas Tuchel, wanted to sign Kounde as a right-back last summer at Chelsea.

Kounde arrived at Barça last year in a deal worth €50 million, signing a five-year contract until 2027. The 24-year-old became a key player for Xavi in his debut season and has racked up a goal and six assists from 38 appearances in all competitions.

However, most of his appearances have come at right-back than his natural position at the heart of the defence.

It is due to two factors – the lack of a reliable option at right-back at Xavi’s disposal and the brilliant performances of Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen at centre-back.

With the Catalans also set to sign Inigo Martinez in the summer, questions remain over whether Kounde could find game-time in his preferred position, especially in the scenario that Barcelona do not bring in a new right-back.

With all scenarios now open, the newly-crowned La Liga champions are said to value their ace defender at €80 million. Whether any club from England or Bayern Munich would be willing to meet that price tag remains to be seen.

Jude Bellingham is one of the hottest prospects in the market this summer. Although the young Englishman is currently invested in the Bundesliga title race that will go down to the wire next weekend, there has been a lot going on about his future.

Real Madrid have emerged as the club best placed to secure his signing at the end of the season, with the player himself reportedly ready to make the switch despite interest from Manchester City and Liverpool, among others.

However, Bellingham did not always have the desire to play for Real Madrid. In fact, as a kid, he used to dream about playing for Barcelona.

This has been revealed in a recent photo that was posted on Instagram by one person who had apparently gone to the same primary school as the man from Birmingham.

An image that claims that Jude Bellingham’s childhood dream is to play for Barça and England. pic.twitter.com/LWIwV778qF

— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) May 21, 2023
In the photo, Bellingham has clearly written about his desire to play for Barcelona when he grows up. He also wanted to play for the English national team – a dream which has been fulfilled quite a while ago, with the midfielder already having 24 caps to his name.

Unfortunately for Barcelona, they are not in a position to sign Bellingham anytime soon. Due to the club’s ongoing economic troubles, they cannot afford to go anywhere near Borussia Dortmund’s price tag for the Englishman, which could easily exceed the €100 million mark.

Barcelona do, however, have an exciting pool of young midfield talents such as Gavi and Pedri. The two players have done an incredible job for the Blaugrana in the recent past and could become key in the club’s development in the years to come.

It is, in fact, quite likely that the two will have to face up Bellingham in La Liga next season, potentially sparking the beginning of an excellent midfield rivalry.

As Barcelona prepare to take on Real Sociedad, it has emerged that centre-back Ronald Araujo and midfielder Pedri did not train with the rest of the squad.

The team returned to training on Thursday ahead of their home game against Real Sociedad, set to be played on Saturday. While there are still four more games to play, this will be the first time that Barcelona will take the field since being crowned the new champions of La Liga.

As part of the build-up, the likes of Araujo and Pedri were allowed to take a break from training after reportedly bearing the consequences and discomfort they picked up during the derby against Espanyol. Both players were taken off in the second half during the 4-2 win against the local rivals.

Journalist Javi Miguel has reported via AS that both Araujo and Pedri could be rested for Saturday’s clash against Real Sociedad. They might not be included in the matchday squad altogether.

On the other hand, Gavi will miss the fixture as well, as he will serve his automatic suspension after receiving his 10th yellow card of the season.

Now, since the league title is already in the bag, the remaining matches will be key for some fringe players. It has been reported that Xavi will want to make full use of his squad depth against Sociedad, meaning that Inaki Pena could replace Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the sticks.

Above all, players such as Pablo Torre, Eric Garcia, Marcos Alonso, Ansu Fati and even Franck Kessie are also expected to get minutes ahead of the regular first-team starters. As part of the shuffle, Ousmane Dembele might also return to the starting XI.

The Frenchman has not started a game for Barcelona ever since returning from the injury that he picked up in January. All in all, the fans can expect a very different lineup on Saturday.

Earlier this month, Spanish media vehemently denied the possibility of Neymar returning to Barcelona. The Brazilian international is likely to leave PSG this summer, but it appears a return to Camp Nou is no longer an option.

Neymar’s name was suggested as a potential target for Barcelona, in light of PSG’s potential mass exodus in the coming summer. But while a return might not be an option for Neymar anymore, the player, nonetheless, was present in the city yesterday.

This has been reported by Gerard Romero, who claims that Neymar arrived in Barcelona yesterday for Barcelona’s title celebrations.

Barcelona notably beat Espanyol 4-2 at the RCDE Stadium to ensure the league title. It was the first time the club had managed to secure the league in four years. It was also the maiden league win for Xavi Hernandez as head coach.

To enjoy the special occasion, Neymar was present in the city. Romero further claims that the PSG frontman was given a two-day leave by the club, which is why he made the decision to return to Barcelona and party with the team. The player still has a good relationship with some of the older stars, including Jordi Alba and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Local paparazzi had notably captured Neymar arriving at the Barcelona airport. As per Romero’s team, the forward was at the Carpe Diem nightclub, partying with the rest of the Barcelona players.

While Neymar’s career might lead him elsewhere, his PSG teammate Lionel Messi is still pretty much in contention to return to Camp Nou in the coming summer.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has recently expressed his desire to sign the Argentine in a press conference and it appears the club are ready to do everything they can in order to facilitate the return of their prodigal son next season.

The future of Ilkay Gundogan has become a hot topic this year, with the midfielder’s contract at Etihad expiring at the end of the season.

Gundogan has been linked with a move to Barcelona for a while now. The Spanish giants want to secure the services of the German international in order to add more fuel to the midfield department, especially after Sergio Busquets’ decision to leave the club.

Gundogan himself has reportedly given the green light to become a Barcelona player next season. But Fabrizio Romano has contradicted those claims, suggesting that the midfielder is yet to make a decision on his future.

With a prolonged stay at Etihad a possibility, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has openly admitted his desire to keep hold of Gundogan beyond the summer.

“Nobody knows what is going to happen, maybe he stays. Hopefully,” he said (h/t Sam Lee) in a recent press conference.

Guardiola’s comments, though, suggest that the future of Gundogan will depend on the player himself. For a while now, the midfielder has been reportedly looking for a fresh challenge elsewhere, especially after years of success in England.

Barcelona, to that end, have emerged as the ideal destination. With the club reeling from Busquets’ decision to leave Camp Nou at the end of the season, there is a vacuum in the midfield department that could open up for Gundogan.

The German international, who is capable of playing as a number six, could fit in nicely alongside Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. His experience and leadership could go a long way in mobilising an otherwise young Barcelona setup, led by Xavi Hernandez.

Gundogan is not the only midfielder Barça are targeting this summer. The club have been also linked with a move for various other stars, including Martin Zubimendi, Ruben Neves and Sofyan Amrabat, who could be available for a paltry €5-6 million this coming summer.

Barcelona are close to reaching an agreement for their first summer exit, with a report from SPORT confirming that the Blaugrana and Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur are in talks to finalize the permanent transfer of Clement Lenglet for about €14 million.

Lenglet, 27, has a valid contract with Barcelona until 2026 but it is no secret that he simply has no place in Xavi’s blueprint for the next season. Since joining Tottenham in July 2022 on a season-long loan, the former Sevilla man has managed to convince the management that he could be a worthy addition.

After seeing him in action in 32 matches across all competitions, Tottenham have informed Barça that they want to sign the left-footed centre-back.

Now, it must be noted that there is no purchase option in Lenglet’s loan contract with Tottenham. Above all, finding an agreement with Tottenham back in July was quite difficult as the player’s salary was posing a serious problem. A favorable agreement, however, was reached after the defender agreed to adjust his salary.

The French centre-back was requested by former Tottenham manager Antonio Conte and despite the Italian’s departure, the Frenchman has impressed one and all with his performances.

At the moment, Barcelona and Tottenham are already talking about formalizing a transfer for around €14 million. Tottenham have agreed to pay the mentioned fee but what is delaying the operation is the institutional crisis at the London club.

Tottenham are in a state of restructuring and there is still no word on who their manager will be next season. At Barcelona, however, they are clear that they do not want him back.

At the same time, the Blaugrana management is also feeling quite optimistic about Samuel Umtiti’s departure mostly because they have been in talks with teams who are willing to pay a transfer fee for the Frenchman.

At Barça, there is a rush to formalise these kind of operations as they want to bring in the income before June 30 so that they can rope in new players for the new season.