Barcelona Transfer News Roundup: Barca plotting move for Manchester City star, Club close to renewing €50 million-rated forward's contract and more - 3 August 2021
Barcelona have to offload quite a few players before they can even think of signing more players but that hasn't curbed their ambition.
Barcelona are in dire straits, financially speaking. The Catalans will not be able to register their new signings until they've brought their wage bill under the La Liga salary cap. Club president Joan Laporta and co. are working on renewing Lionel Messi's contract and a number of other deals as well.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 3 August 2021.
Joan Laporta discusses Messi, Griezmann and Moriba
Speaking at Emerson Royal's unveiling, Barcelona president Joan Laporta opened up on the situation with three players, namely Messi, Griezmann and Moriba. On Messi, Laporta said:
“We are in the process of getting Messi to stay. He wants to stay at Barça and we have to make sure that happens. We all want Messi in La Liga because he is a world-class player, the best in the world, and he clearly helps to promote the league. I know Leo wants to stay and appreciate that highly. Everything is very much on the right track.”
He sounded a bit stern about Barcelona's stance on Ilaix Moriba's situation. Moriba's camp and Barcelona have been at odds over the terms of a new contract. Laporta said:
“If Ilaix doesn’t want to renew his contract, he has other options. We don’t want players that have grown up here and don’t want to renew their contracts. We’re sorry, but the club comes before anything else and we can’t have this kind of thing happening. I want them to think again because we want to reach an agreement."
Antoine Griezmann is one of the players who has been heavily linked with an exit. However, Laporta seems to hint at the Frenchman staying at the club.
“Everyone is happy with Griezmann. He’s a true professional. He has a contract with Barça and we have to respect that.”
Barcelona close to renewing Ousmane Dembele's contract
According to Sport, Barcelona are close to renewing Ousmane Dembele's contract. The new deal will see Dembele earn reduced wages and will be a two or three-year contract.
This is great news for the Catalans who have been looking to trim their wage bill. The Frenchman has remained patient about his contract situation despite his current deal expiring next summer.
The 23-year-old was a key player for Barcelona in the 2020-21 season and seems to finally be hitting his stride after joining the club in 2017. If he does end up putting pen to paper on a new deal, Barcelona won't be running the risk of losing him on a free next summer.
Barcelona still interested in Aymeric Laporte
With Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti facing uncertain futures at the club, Barcelona are looking to bring more reinforcements to their backline. According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero (via BarcaUniversal), the Catalans remain interested in signing Aymeric Laporte.
The Manchester City centre-back has fallen down the pecking order following the arrival of Ruben Dias last summer. He is a top quality defender but made only 20 appearances in the Premier League and the Champions League combined in the 2020-21 season.
However, Barcelona will need to sell quite a few players before they can sign more. So Laporte's arrival hinges on departures from Barcelona over the next few weeks.