Although they’ve signed Ilkay Gundogan this summer already, Barcelona missed out on Lionel Messi because of their current financial predicament, and that’s likely to benefit Man United or Bayern Munich in the long run.
Both the Premier League giants and the Bundesliga champions are remaining active in the summer transfer market, and are looking to take advantage of what’s going on in Catalonia at present.
Even the fact that Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have all left the club doesn’t appear to have had too much effect on Barca’s ability in the current window.
Indeed, it seems as if Joan Laporta and Mateu Alemany are trapped in quicksand and battling against the elements in order to try and somehow get deals over the line. So near yet so far.
Twelve months ago, Laporta had agreed a fee with Man United to allow Frenkie de Jong to move to Old Trafford and link up with his former Ajax manager, Erik ten Hag.
To his credit, the player wasn’t going to be bullied out of the club and dug his heels in. As it turned out, he became one of Barca’s most consistent exponents in 2022/23.
Now, a year later, the circus looks like it’s about to start up again.
According to 90Min, Barcelona are looking for a defensive midfielder to replace Busquets and were they able to acquire one that could impact on de Jong’s minutes in the starting XI.
As such, there’s a potential likelihood that the Dutchman could then be open to a switch elsewhere, with the outlet noting that ten Hag still adores the player.
Barcelona missed out on Messi because he’s only bothered about the money. If he truly cared about Barcelona, he could have stayed with them on a reduced wage. I’m sure now he’s paid all his tax bills he can struggle by on his vast fortune, which would not have happened if Barcelona hadn’t of helped him in teh first place.