(Football news) Barcelona despite all their financial troubles have been busy in the market at least from the outside. Strong reports suggest that they have already agreed a deal with Frank Kessie on a free transfer from AC Milan. Marcos Alonso is another player who has agreed a deal with Blaugrana and only negotiations with Chelsea are left. Cesar Azpilicueta is another player they are interested in bringing. The big one is Robert Lewandowski who has already publicly said that he wants to join Barcelona even though Bayern Munich don't want to let him go.
Recently the Catalan club has been linked with Manchester City playmaker Bernardo Silva. The player's super agent Jorge Mendes recently had a meeting with Barcelona to discuss a number of things. When asked about the rumors Pep Guardiola said "They will have a difficult time,". Silva said "Unfortunately, I cannot answer anything. When the season ends, we will see what happens”. City will definitely want to keep hold of the player but if he wishes to leave the club then Manchester City isn't one of the clubs to block transfers. The rumored transfer price of the Portuguese player is €100M.
Barcelona's financial woes are no secret at this moment. The club has a lot of problems to solve in this transfer window. A number of players have taken significant wage cuts so that the club can register new signings. According to reports in Spain, the Blaugrana need to generate €500M to save the club as they have €1.5 billion debt. The club is taking certain serious measures to recover from this position. They made Spotify their jersey sponsor and stadium sponsor meaning that their Stadium will be called the Spotify Camp Nou from July.
The stadium itself is going to be renovated and Barcelona will play the 2023/24 season at the Olympic Stadium. On a small scale they have also started to rent out the Nou Camp for weddings and other events. They have also announced that they will allow fans to play at the stadium for a certain amount of money. It is not as if they have tried to do it silently but the club has been marketing it on their official social media, showing how much they need the money.
The real question is that amidst all this financial woes and rebuilding, how can Barcelona afford to sign a player like Bernardo Silva. The deal with Kessie has been agreed but Barcelona haven't announced the signing yet as they can't register him but the club has assured the player that he will play for them next season. Barcelona needs to cut out a lot of dead wood and even sell a few valuable players. It is said that the only way Barcelona can sign Silva is if they manage to get rid of Fenkie De Jong who is linked with Manchester United.
Back in January Joan Laporta publicly said that Barcelona is back in the market looking for the best players in the world but their financial woes haven't improved. There is a high chance that all these statements and rumors of Bernardo Silva are completely false and done on purpose by Barcelona to make the club look a certain way. The likelihood is that Barcelona don't even try to go for Bernardo Silva. They will also have to pull the strings to register any new signings that come their way.
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