Barcelona reach agreement to sign Bundesliga star wanted by rivals Real Madrid: Reports
Barcelona have reportedly reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen star Jonathan Tah. The German defender was a target for Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Chelsea as he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
As per a report in Sportitalia, Barcelona have made significant progress in talks and will be signing an agreement soon. They report that Tah, who turns 29 next year, was also on the radar of Juventus and Inter Milan.
Manager Hansi Flick has reportedly played a key role in luring the defender to the Catalan side. He was keen on bolstering the defense and saw the free transfer for the German as the ideal way to get the backline sorted without dipping into the transfer budget for next season.
Real Madrid were once touted to be leading the race and were linked with a move in January. However, their title rivals seem to have now won the race and the German would be moving to the Catalan club at the end of the season.
Barcelona target confirmed he would not be signing a new deal at Bayer Leverkusen
Jonathan Tah spoke to the media earlier this season and confirmed that he would not be penning a new deal at Bayern Leverkusen. He stated that the time had come for him to switch clubs as he needed a new challenge.
The defender admitted that his decision was clear to the club before the summer and they had offers to sell him. However, the club opted to keep him and he has no problem in staying.
The Barcelona target said:
"My decision is just as clear as it was before. I will not be extending my contract (…) I still have a contract until 2025, and until then I will give everything for Leverkusen. I didn't want to leave Leverkusen because I don't feel comfortable there. Quite the opposite."
"The love I feel for this club will never go away. A football career is short, and that's why it's always been my idea to get everything out of it that's possible, to take all the experience with me. And in the summer I just had the feeling that it was time to look at something new - right after our extremely successful last season."
The defender continued:
"I'm certainly not going to point the finger at this club, to whom I owe so much. I also really appreciate the fact that they've now changed their minds, that it's obviously important to them that I stay for sporting and human reasons. That's a nice feeling too."
Meanwhile, Barcelona are reportedly open to selling defender Ronald Araujo, who is a target for Bayern Munich and Manchester United. Both clubs had bids rejected earlier this year but the Catalan side are now open to selling because their financial status has not improved.