How Barcelona should slash €200m from wage budget in order to re-sign Lionel Messi
By Sean Walsh
Barcelona's finances are in a sorry state, and they need to sell a number of players this transfer window.
Hang on, this all sounds very familiar...
Oh yeah! That's right, Barça pretty much put their whole squad on the transfer list following their 8-2 humiliation by Bayern Munich last summer. They managed to offload Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Luis Suarez, Nelson Semedo and Rafinha, but they're still in disarray.
Because of La Liga's salary cap rules, Barcelona now need to free up €200m (£170m) from their wage bill in order to register any of their new signings - and that includes current free agent Lionel Messi.
Players are going to need to take pay cuts across the board and there are going to be some tough calls for club president Joan Laporta to make this transfer window. Luckily for him, I've made some of them for him, even without reliable sources to tell me how much these players actually make. No need to thank me, Joan!
Here are the players Barça need to sell in order to re-sign Messi and register the likes of Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay.
1. Sergio Busquets
Age: 32 (33 soon, but he's 32 til he's 33, that's how it works)
Position: DM
Possible destinations: MLS
Estimated yearly salary: 10 Michus
Roy Keane's assessment of Busquets at Euro 2020 perfectly sums up the midfielder: "He can’t run, can’t tackle, but in a possession-based team, he passes forward and nine times out of ten he makes the right choice."
Unfortunately for Busquets, he makes a hell of a lot of money and is on the decline. Barcelona need to cash in.
2. Antoine Griezmann
Age: 30
Position: CF/LW/RW
Possible destinations: Man City, PSG
Estimated yearly salary: 1,500,000 copies of Football Manager
Barcelona's pursuit of Tony G was always weird. He plays in the exact same position as Messi, but if he doesn't, then you have to shoehorn him in and get half the player he can be. Doesn't really sound like a wise use of €120m.
Luckily for Barça, Man City could be prepared to take Griezmann off their hands as they seek alternative forward options to Harry Kane. It'd be a huge let-off for the Blaugrana if that were to be the case.
3. Miralem Pjanic
Age: 31
Position: CM
Possible destinations: Tottenham, Juventus
Estimated yearly salary: 840,000,000 Freddos
Why is Pjanic at Barcelona again? Oh right. They essentially swapped him with Arthur so that themselves and Juventus could balance their books. Good one, lads.
A fine player in his prime no doubt, but Barça are well stocked in midfield and, as you've probably guessed by now, could do with shifting his wages.
4. Ousmane Dembele
Age: 24
Position: RW/LW
Possible destinations: PSG, Arsenal, Tottenham
Estimated yearly salary: 2,400,000 Fortnite skins
Injuries have been the bane of Dembele's Barça career, and he's often been linked with a move away from Camp Nou. With the club in desperate need of funds, now is the right time for him to move on. try and prove to be a success elsewhere.
5. Philippe Coutinho
Age: 29
Position: AM/LW
Possible destinations: Milan, Everton, PSG
Estimated yearly salary: 80,000 Borussia Dortmund season tickets
Dear lord, what a sad little signing, Barcelona.
Not many teams can claim to have spent nine figures on a player who then proceeded to score against them in an 8-2 loss while he was still contracted to the club. Coutinho's Barça spell has been a disaster, and agent Kia Joorabchian has already been tasked with finding him a new club.
6. Samuel Umtiti
Age: 27
Position: CB
Possible destinations: Arsenal, Lyon, Zenit
Estimated yearly salary: 2,400,000 downloads of that France World Cup winning song on iTunes
Poor Umtiti has been ravaged by injury in recent years, making just 49 appearances for Barcelona in the last three seasons.
But this is a cut-throat business. Barcelona need the money a lot more than they need another player who's rarely ever fit.
7. Norberto Neto
Age: 31
Position: GK
Possible destinations: Arsenal
Estimated yearly salary: 43,000 Gunnersaurses
Apparently Arsenal want Neto? Err, okay, sure. Take him. Thanks for popping by.
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