Barcelona set for four-man clear-out, £275m spending will lead to sales

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Given how much they’ve spent on their last two marquee signings, it comes as no surprise that reports claim Barcelona could now sell to balance their books.

As seen in the tweet below, the Catalan giants confirmed the signing of Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool on Saturday night, as he becomes the latest big name to join the ranks at the Nou Camp.

According to The Express, the Brazilian playmaker will join in a £142m deal, and coupled with how much they splashed out to sign Ousmane Dembele last summer, the report claims that’s roughly a total of £275m on the star duo.

That’s a staggering amount of money to be spending on two players, but given their quality, age and style to fit into the Barcelona way, the hierarchy and coach Ernesto Valverde will surely feel confident that they will be major long-term pieces in their success.

Nevertheless, the Express, as per Don Balon, add that it will come with a knock-on effect, and that involves Javier Mascherano, Arda Turan, Andre Gomes and Gerard Deulofeu leaving the club in order to help paint a rosier financial picture.

In truth, given the lack of playing time and fringe roles that the quartet named above having been playing, the only real concern for Barcelona is that they’re going to potentially sacrifice a lot of depth which could hurt them as they continue to compete on multiple fronts and need to rotate.

However, while success on the pitch is naturally the biggest factor for any club, they have to maintain a healthy and solid financial position too and it would seem entirely understandable that sales should follow to try and recoup some of that spending and balance the books.

Whether or not it’s as simple as that for Barca remains to be seen, as although Mascherano, Turan, Gomes and Deulofeu are talented players, there’s a mix of a lack of regular football and question marks over their ability to deliver at the top level on a consistent basis, and that could complicate possible exits.

More Stories Andre Gomes Arda Turan Gerard Deulofeu Javier Mascherano Philippe Coutinho