Barcelona will hope to finance their summer transfers by selling some players who have not delivered well for the club over the last few years.
Recent spending has suggested clearly that Barcelona are living well beyond their means. The Catalans have made some lavish signings over the last three years, spending in excess of 100 million euros on three players, namely Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann, plus a whopping 75 million euros for Frenkie de Jong.
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Apart from this season’s recruits, Dembele and Coutinho are signings that have fallen flat, with both players combining to cost close to 300 million euros. After two dismal years in the Camp Nou, all signs point towards the forwards leaving the club sooner or later and it’s fair to say that both of them already have a foot placed out of Barcelona.
Even in the upcoming summer, Barca are tipped to spend big on signing a successor for Luis Suarez and possibly even a winger. However, the club has already taken note of the fact that it needs to raise 125 million euros before it can buy heavily in order to be safe from FIFA and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Policies, which recently saw Atletico Madrid and Chelsea punished.
So far, the board of directors have not been able to sanction a noteworthy sale that could see the club’s finances strengthen and hence, only the sporadic players have given way to money. Carles Perez moving to AS Roma for just 13 million euros last month was a sign of how desperately Barcelona are looking for money.
Marca has reported that the club’s next sale will most likely be Rafinha Alcantara, who is currently on a loan at Celta Vigo. Rafinha has had several loan spells whilst being contracted with the Blaugrana and nothing has worked out well for him, but the Galician outfit seems to have interested a midfielder and both parties are exploring the prospect of a permanent deal.
Originally, Rafinha’s release clause is 75 million euros but that is certainly not the kind of money any team in the world will pay for a player of that calibre. Barcelona, amid their grave need of having a positive accounting statement, have now decided to sell the La Masia product for a sum of just 17 million euros, but the move could drag on till summer.
Which other players do you think should leave the club during this summer’s transfer window?