When FC Barcelona lost Neymar in the summer of 2017, it fell back on Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho, paid at a high price because they were financed by the €222 million received for the Brazilian. This time, it is Ousmane Dembélé who will go to PSG, leaving a void in the right lane. But he won’t fetch as much as Neymar, and Barca have to rack their brains to find a new winger.
The João Felix track opened yesterday by the Spanish press has already been denied this morning, the Portuguese not being Xavi’s priority. The latter has a preference for a player, Bernardo Silva. Precisely, the attacking midfielder has been on the shelves of the Catalan club for a long time, and he has even already agreed to join Catalonia, as recalled Sport this Tuesday.
Barca don’t have the funds
The problem, you guessed it, is elsewhere, and concerns the salary cap of the Catalan club, still entangled in its financial problems. The departure of Dembélé and the few sales made so far have made it possible to complete the arrivals of Ilkay Gündogan, Oriol Romeu and Inigo Martinez. But that will not be enough to complete a blow of the scale of Bernardo Silva. The other major problem is the price that will have to be paid at Manchester City.
The Mancunian club has understood that its player wants a new challenge, and he will not oppose a departure if a club puts in the necessary sum, around 80 M€. But he will not give any gift, especially since Riyad Mahrez, who alternated on the right flank of the attack, joined Saudi Arabia. It remains to be seen whether PSG, which has also reached an agreement with Bernardo Silva, is still on the job despite the imminent recruitment of Ousmane Dembélé.
