It was the end of the 2021/22 season, Barcelona finished trophyless and it seemed their financial woes will get the best of them. More than 1 billion Euros in depth and the chances of them signing anyone but free agents looked slim. Furthermore, Ousmane Dembele, probably their most talented player, looked to be on the way out.
But then something happened..
Generation:Football is not a financial expert, so I won’t go into too much depth regarding the economic levers they activated, I will focus only on the transfers.
Players sold
Quite a few big names, but nothing to write home about when it comes to value of transfer. Philippe Coutinho, one of their marquee signings after the departure of Neymar left after a 100mil loss, which is obviously good for Barca’s wage structure. Although not on the list, Griezmann is still on loan at Atletico, with the Madrid based side paying for his wages.
Players bought
This is where the magic happened. Previously tought to be close to bankruptcy, Barcelona somehow managed to sign some of the most wanted players in Europe, including the World’s most lethal poacher, Robert Lewandowski. Barca also had to fend off interest from other big clubs, such as Chelsea, for the likes of Raphina or Kounde. Note, Kounde is not yet registered with La Liga, but we have no doubt Laporta will have his way.
This in itself is quite a feet, but don’t forget Dembele: Barca managed to extend the player’s contract, after strong interest from abroad. Add free transfers of Kessi and Christensen to the mix, who bring defensive stability and you got yourself a transfer window of dreams!
More activity on the way..
The case of Frenkie de Jong is a curious one. The Dutchman will earn in excess of 500k Euros per week in the next season, which obviously doesn’t sit well with Barca’s board and there are rumours that ManUtd and Chelsea are both on the lookout. While it seems unlikely that Frenkie would join Manchester United at this point, Chelsea look to be getting something their way finally.
There were a lot of talks about Bernardo Silva, even the player admitting he might be open to a move to Spain, but as things stand, there won’t be any movement here, unless De Jong is sold.
On the other hand, Barca are still on the lookout for fullbacks. On the left, we have a clear frontrunner in Marcos Alonso, as the Spaniard is set to join from the same club mentioned a lot: Chelsea. On the right, things got more complicated, as the main target, César Azpilicueta, extended his contract with… khm… Chelsea, forcing Barca to look elsewhere.
Rumours of a Right Back
With Azpi not being an option anymore, the Catalan side is on the lookout for a few younger options.
Frimpong is one of the players who have gone off the radar, after a very good season, however his price might scare away Laporta and co. The young RB is not expected to leave for less than 50mil Euros.
As Rahman said in that thread, the more likely options seem to be Meunier and Foyth. While Meunier’s biggest achievement in the last few seasons is injuring fellow Belgian, Eden Hazard, Foyth is an estabilished La Liga defender. He will probably cost around €25M, but at this point in time, no one knows how much can Barca still spend. Might be 0, might be all the money in the world..
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