Barcelona transfer news: Players could be released if sales go wrong
Suraj Radia
- 28 May 2022 21:40 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona are, once again, facing a summer where they need to trim the wage bill and the club could terminate contracts of players who cannot be sold.
The Spanish side are still dealing with the financial issues that saw them unable to keep Lionel Messi last year and the situation has only marginally improved since.
Preisdent Joan Laporta recently admitted that drastic measures would need to be taken to put the club in a stable position to make new signings and it appears those measures may include releasing players.
The club previously enforced paycuts on their highest earners however they are not keen on repeating the time and effort taken to negotiate with their superstars again.
Laporta maintained that releasing players was the last resort option and that they would continue to make the effort to sell players, even if for lower fees than they anticipated.
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Barcelona have been linked with numerous big money transfers this summer including Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich who could command a fee of around €35 million and would become a top earner at the club.
However, despite personal terms reportedly being agreed with Lewandowski, Barca would likely require some players to leave first such as Ousmane Dembele who is out of contract.
Manager Xavi is keen to keep the Frenchman following his return to form but Dembele's wage demands could mean the club lose out on the player who joined them for more than €105m in 2017.
The club have made the likes of Samuel Umtiti, Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite available for transfer and it is believed those are some of the players who could be released if they cannot be sold.
Laporta: "Our wage bill is 40% higher than the rest of the teams. This is what we have in terms of the disastrous legacy that came from years of careless management."
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) May 25, 2022
While Barcelona are not keen on selling first team players, Liverpool could activate a €50m release clause in Gavi's contract while Manchester United are keen on signing Dutchman Frenkie De Jong.
With Barcelona desperate to add quality to their side, something will have to give for the Spanish side and they will be hoping to sell fringe players instead of losing more crucial stars.
