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Barcelona: Josep Maria Bartomeu clears the air about the plans for the summer

By Chiranjib Ghosh

Football player Samuel Umtiti (L) signs his jersey beside the president of FC Barcelona Josep Maria Bartomeu during a press conference after Umtiti's renewal with the club at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on June 4, 2018. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) (Photo credit should read LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images)
Football player Samuel Umtiti (L) signs his jersey beside the president of FC Barcelona Josep Maria Bartomeu during a press conference after Umtiti's renewal with the club at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on June 4, 2018. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) (Photo credit should read LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona will not let go of their stars easily

Although it is clear that Josep Maria Bartomeu still has a personal preference for Antoine Griezmann despite the fact that he rebuffed Barcelona last summer, the club will not be going after the World Cup winner in the upcoming transfer window.

Due to the non-fulfillment of the promises made by the Atlético management, Griezmann now regrets penning a new deal at the Wanda Metropolitano. As a result, Griezmann wants a move to a bigger club in order to meet his lofty ambitions.

The 28-year old centre-forward’s release clause will become €120 million in the summer, and he had been wanting a move to Barça. But Bartomeu has categorically denied that the club holds any interest in him, also stating that Griezmann hadn’t contacted Barça.

The club president also explained that Samuel Umtiti is considered an integral part of the Barça setup. Barça want the 25-year old Frenchman to get back to full fitness, and compete with compatriot Clément Lenglet for regular minutes.

New signing Lenglet has used Umtiti’s injury as a platform to chart a course for a breakthrough season, and has had great success. Umtiti cannot even dream of returning to the first-team this season, and the new season also holds its fair share of challenges.

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The former Lyon man is likely to leave if Barça win the treble this season. Any member of a treble-winning first-team will not be sacrificed even to accommodate a World Cup winner. Moreover, he has big-money offers from Manchester United and Juventus, with Arsenal also interested.

So, despite the club’s commitment to retaining Umtiti, he will probably leave at the end of the season. It is going to be a financially sound deal on Barça’s part. Bartomeu was a little more non-committal when it came to the future of Philippe Coutinho.

He said that the Brazil international enjoyed the coach’s confidence, and is part of the club’s plans. But Bartomeu revealed that Barça will certainly get rid of him if his release clause is activated, signalling that the club is open to a sale.

Unlike Umtiti, Coutinho has had a lot of playing time but has failed to capitalise on those opportunities. He started his Barça career on a positive note, but has been a massive failure since the beginning of the new season after the World Cup in Russia.

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Coutinho has a limited number of suitors due to his huge price tag. Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are frontrunners in the race for his signature, and he should be offloaded in order to give more room to Ousmane Dembélé for growth.

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