Barcelona have been dealing with major salary limit and financial issues since the Covid-19 pandemic, but rather than sell off players, the Blaugrana have so far opted to sell assets rather than sales. However that will change this summer.
Lionel Messi of course is the most infamous case of their financial situation forcing them to choose between players, while Ousmane Dembele’s release clause move for €50m to Paris Saint-Germain has been their biggest sale. However that approach will be ended next summer, say Sport. They say that the club has asked Sporting Director Deco to make big sales next summer. They have set him a target of €80m to bring in, with Frenkie de Jong, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Pablo Torre all expected to leave.
Barcelona are calm when it comes to Nico Williams, who's sparking interest from various big clubs like Bayern Munich. They know firsthand that he would prioritize a move to Barça. @sport pic.twitter.com/PiMhZtsq1m
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 25, 2024
The prime candidates for major sales are Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong, who are out of contract in 2026. Both are due for no doubt expensive contract renewals, and while it now seems that Barcelona want to retain Araujo, they were open to selling him last summer. Meanwhile de Jong is one of the highest earners at the club, but they will have to find a way of convincing him to leave, which has failed on multiple occasions in recent years.