How Barcelona have FINALLY benefitted from Pjanic transfer
Suraj Radia
- 18 Aug 2022 21:21 BST
- 3 min read
Miralem Pjanic will likely go down as one of the worst signings in Barcelona's history but the Spanish side might finally have benefitted from his transfer.
The Bosnian midfielder joined from Juventus in 2020 in a deal worth €60 million, while Arthur Melo went the other way for a fee of €72m.
Pjanic was considered a disastrous signing and only made 19 appearances in La Liga for Barca before spending last season on loan at Besiktas.
But, while the club may be ruing the expensive deal for a player now considered a write-off, the transfer may allow Barcelona to get rid of another one of their cast-offs in Memphis Depay.
The Catalan outfit are desperate to get rid of Depay in order to lower their wage bill and are willing to let him leave for free to Juventus.
In return, the Italian side will waive some of the bonuses remaining in the Pjanic deal, however they are still yet to agree complete personal terms with Depay.
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Barcelona juggling finances to wrap up summer
Barcelona have spent more than €150m on players this summer despite their financial difficulty, funding their business through a host of economic 'levers'.
The club are still looking to bring in more players, with Manchester City's Bernardo Silva a priority if Frenkie de Jong leaves, as well as Marcos Alonso from Chelsea.
However, Barca are still unable to register all their new signings and contract renewals with La Liga with Jules Kounde missing their opening game of the season because of the situation.
The departure of Depay would free up some wages, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and De Jong have been told to take a salary cut or leave the club.
Aubameyang is wanted by Chelsea while De Jong still has an offer on the table from Manchester United but he is unwilling to leave until he is paid €17m in deferred wages.
