"I don't know if they will sell Frenkie or Pedri" - La Liga chief Javier Tebas provides important financial update on Barcelona's pursuit of Robert Lewandowski
Javier Tebas has warned Barcelona that they need to raise money before spending. The LaLiga president claims the club will have to sell Frenkie de Jong or Pedri before signing Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona are looking to sign Lewandowski from Bayern Munich this summer. The Polish star is also keen on joining them, but the club are yet to get into a financial state to afford him.
Javier Tebas on EFE: “As of today, Barcelona can’t sign Lewandowski. They know their financial situation and the rules of the league. I don’t know if they will sell Frenkie or Pedri, but they know they have to sell players or certain assets” #Transfers 💰
The La Liga president quickly pointed it out in a recent interaction and issued a warning to the Catalan side. He added that they have to raise money before buying players, and those are the rules of the league. He said:
"As of today, Barcelona can't sign Lewandowski. They know their financial situation and the rules of the league. I don't know if they will sell Frenkie or Pedri, but they know they have to sell players or certain assets."
Javier Tebas vs Barcelona has been going on for a year
Javier Tebas has been strict with his rules and did not make any exceptions for Barcelona. His stance led to Lionel Messi leaving for PSG last summer.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta was not happy with the comments made by Tebas last summer and hit out at him. He claimed the Spaniard was obsessed with the Catalan side and told Barca TV:
"I believe his comments are improper of the league president. Instead of looking for harmony and understanding, he always looks for conflict and confrontation. He has a sick obsession to see how he can harm Barca and its values, but we Catalans already know him. He says that Messi has not stayed at Barça, but he has been the lead actor regarding not staying because of his excess of zeal."
📸 The board meeting has begun — it is being conducted to discuss about the financial situation of the club, levers (CVC/BLM/Barça Studios Sale, etc) that need to be activated, possibility of making a big sale of a certain player, etc. #FCB 💼 https://t.co/pEU0AbBBnK
He added:
"The rest of the leagues have been more flexible [with respect to fair play] and have been able to keep their most relevant players. Just as when Cristiano Ronaldo, [Pep] Guardiola or [Jose] Mourinho left, we knew that one day this would happen. We've been lucky to have had the two best footballers in the world in the two best teams in the world and LaLiga has been able to take advantage of that and be at the forefront worldwide."
Tebas has also criticised Kylian Mbappe after the Frenchman rejected an offer from Real Madrid to stay at PSG.