Barcelona have agreed that they must sell Antoine Griezmann if they succeed in getting Lionel Messi to sign a new contract.
The Spanish side are facing the need to cut a full 170 million pounds from their annual salary budget this summer before they can write about Messi and register new players Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Emerson.
While smaller departures such as those of Jean-Clair Todibo, Junior Firpo and Francisco Trincao have made a minor buck, there is an acceptance that Barcelona need to do so much more if they are to come back under their salary cap, and that is where Griezmann comes in.
Griezmann has been hailed as one of the highest earners in the squad as a possible accident with wage protection, and AS believes that there is very little chance that both he and Messi will be at Camp Nou when the next season starts.
Griezmann’s salary is far too high for a team with major financial problems, especially since there is not even a place on the team for him anymore. Messi, Aguero, Depay and Ansu Fati are likely to dominate most of the minutes, and there is no way Barcelona will pay Griezmann to sit on the bench.
Griezmann’s salary is not sustainable / David Ramos / Getty Images
Barcelona are reluctant to ask Griezmann to leave the club if Messi stays, but a big problem with this is finding a team that is willing to pay for the Frenchman in a transfer market after COVID.
Manchester City have been named potential suitors if they miss Harry Kane, but the sources of the gossip mean it must be taken with a pinch of salt. Mundo Deportivo mentions mysterious reports in the English media, all of which link back to the Spanish space Fichajes, so I would not get your hopes on this one if I were you.
Pep Guardiola has previously suggested that City would not spend much on a new striker this summer, but that came before they offered £ 100 million for Harry Kane and expressed their interest in Erling Haaland, so it is difficult to say what their plans are today.
When he recently spoke to TV3, Guardiola hinted that it may no longer be a question of spending that kind of money.
Guardiola can spend a lot to replace Aguero / Marc Atkins / Getty Images
“I imagine that if we want to sign a Barca or Real Madrid player for around £ 100 million, Barca and Madrid will not complain,” he said. “They will be happy that it can be done.
“I do not know how the market will end. I do not know, with Txiki [Begiristain], what we can do too many times you want to do things that are not possible. What we can do we will do and if we do not continue with the group we have, we have won three leagues in four years and finally reached a Champions League final. ”
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