Barcelona’s latest financial pressure point could open the door for two Premier League rivals to battle it out it for a key transfer target.
The Catalan side are no strangers to fiscal drama, with the past two summers seeing them pull financial ‘levers’ by selling future stakes in the club’s TV revenue and the club’s in-house media outlet in order to meet their financial commitments.
Despite these ongoing financial issues, the new signings kept arriving, but the club reportedly face a new challenge this summer.
According to The Athletic, Barcelona must find €130million before June 30 if they are to make any signings - free transfers or otherwise - this summer.
They add that as things stand, the club cannot register nine of the 25 players who started games for the club in La Liga this season for the new campaign, due to them overshooting La Liga’s salary limit during the 2023/24 season.
While the club will look for more of their infamous ‘levers’ to pull, The Athletic add that the club ‘cannot rule out’ cashing in on some of their key assets. One name mentioned is Frenkie De Jong and that will alert the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, who have both been linked with the Dutch midfielder in recent weeks.
Several reports in Spain have linked De Jong with a move to the Emirates in recent months, as Mikel Arteta looks for a defensive midfielder that would allow Declan Rice and Martin Odergaard to get forward more.
An asking price of €80million was mooted in the Spanish press last month, but if Barcelona have less than a month to raise significant funds, that could play into Arsenal’s hands.
Meanwhile, De Jong has been a long-term target for Manchester United, with manager Erik ten Hag attempting to bring his countryman over to Old Trafford on several occasions.
The defensive midfield position remains one of need for the Red Devils, but question marks over the future of the former Ajax boss could mean the club look at alternative targets.
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