DESPERATE Barcelona target €80m star after Williams and Diaz snubs

Tom Weber

• Updated: 8 Jul 2025 15:21 BST
• 4 min read

News

Barcelona have identified former La Masia starlet Xavi Simons as a potential attacking reinforcement, according to Spanish media.

The Blaugrana are forced to scour the market for alternative targets after being snubbed by Nico Williams (again), while also seeing their approaches for Luis Diaz rebuffed by Liverpool.

According to Sport, the name of Xavi Simons is 'gaining ground' in Catalunya as a potential option to reinforce the attack, with the Dutchman currently in the midst of a weird window.

Current ETV

Xavi Simons

M (L), AM (C)

RB Leipzig

Xavi Simons

M (L), AM (C)

RB Leipzig

€67.5M

ETV Range

€60.7M - €74.2M

View full profile

Heading into the summer, Xavi was unequivocal about his desire to leave RB Leipzig after they failed to qualify for Europe for the first time since their 2016 Bundesliga promotion. However, so far, interest has been few and far between.

While Xavi is a talent admired across Europe, he is viewed as a potentially difficult character and struggled to consistently perform last season, which makes his €80 million price tag appear hugely excessive.

Xavi dreams of Barcelona return

The Spanish outlet reports that Barcelona's interest in Simons is in many ways driven by necessity considering that there is currently not enough elite attacking talent to satisfy the growing demand in the market.

The options are 'dwindling by the day,' which means that Barcelona and other elite sides are increasingly looking at Simons, despite the evident reservations, particularly about his price tag.

Barcelona, of course, still have the option of Marcus Rashford on the table. The England international is desperate to move to Catalunya, and he would be cheaper than Simons, at least in terms of his transfer fee as he has a €48m price tag.

Simons, too, would be keen on a move to Barcelona, however. Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano previously claimed that Simons would love to return to his formative club, with his desire likely informed by a sense of unfinished business.

With clubs unwilling to pay €80m for the 22-year-old, Leipzig will surely have to lower their asking price or risk keeping a player who has no intention of being there.

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