Barcelona director confirms club will not sell key stars to fund move for Kylian Mbappe
Barcelona sporting director Deco is not interested in the idea of selling star players to fund a deal for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.
Barca have had to walk a budgetary tightrope recently, with the club having to sell stakes to manage their finances and maintain its accordance with La Liga's Financial Fair Play rules.
It was reported earlier this week that with Mbappe increasingly likely to leave PSG this summer, Barcelona are also in the race to sign the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner on a Bosman deal. With rivals Real Madrid reportedly leading the race, Barca's possible entrance was seen as an interesting development.
Sources added that the Blaugrana will have to sell some of their star assets to make room for the wages of Mbappe, namely Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong. However, Deco has laid rest to those rumours. As reported by Barca Blaugranas, he said:
“I don’t know what will happen with Mbappe. It would be a mistake to sell (Araujo and Frenkie). I would like to improve the squad and not make it worse. I think it would be worse for the team if Araujo and Frenkie left and Mbappe came.”
Araujo has been linked with a mega-money move to Bayern Munich. Frenkie de Jong, meanwhile, has been linked with a move to the Premier League and is reportedly on a massive wage at the Camp Nou.
Should the two stars leave, it will open up a large wage cap in Barca's books. As per La Liga rules, Spanish clubs in the top division are allowed to spend a maximum of 40% of their annual revenue.
Deco addresses rumours of Jose Mourinho replacing Xavi at Barcelona
Last month, Barcelona boss Xavi announced his decision to leave at the end of the season. Since his announcement, several managers have been linked with the hot seat at Barcelona.
One name that has cropped up recently is Jose Mourinho, the ex-Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchetser United boss. Addressing reports of Mourinho taking over at the Camp Nou, Deco told Esport3:
"He is a great friend of mine, but I haven’t talked with him in a long time. We’re looking for a manager who can adapt to the club’s situation and that can keep developing the young players we have."
Mourinho was recently relieved of his duties at AS Roma.