La Liga 'lacking star player' after Messi's Barcelona exit
Premier League giants are set to capitalise on Barcelona’s disastrous financial situation and swoop in on four major stars. The La Liga side have seen Lionel Messi depart for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer after failing to get his new contract passed by La Liga.
The departure of Messi will remove a significant chunk from Barca’s heavy wage bill but they are still under threat of breaching the salary cap in the Spanish top-flight.
The highest wage bill in world sport led to the club’s debts rising to more than £1.1billion, with the Covid-19 pandemic having a disastrous effect on finances.
La Liga have now stepped in amid the mounting crisis, slashing the club’s wage cap from £570m in the 2019/2020 season to less than £170m for the upcoming campaign.
The Catalan side have been attempting to sell the players on the fringes of their squad for much of the transfer window.
But there have been no takers for the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti, with many European clubs struggling to get a handle on their own finances.
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Even the departure of Lionel Messi has not helped Barca's situation (Image: Getty Images)
But that talent could now be used to help the club recover from their current tailspin, with Messi’s exit not enough to solve their issues.
According to The Athletic, clubs across Europe, but especially the Premier League giants, are monitoring the situation.
It is stated that the Spanish club could now look to sell four of their biggest stars in a bid to raise much-needed capital.
Those four stars are young midfielder Pedri, goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, centre-back Ronald Araújo and former Ajax star Frenkie De Jong.
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Frenkie De Jong and Pedri are two stars who Premier League sides could swoop for (Image: Getty Images)
The four are said to be the Barca players with a “value on the market”, as the Catalan side consider the unthinkable and take apart their squad.
The Athletic report that a source has compared their situation to that of a smaller Spanish side who must sell their stars to survive.
Barca would certainly be able to raise significant funds if they did move on Pedri, Ter Stegen, Araujo and De Jong.
Spanish international Pedri is one of Europe’s highest-rated young players alongside De Jong, with Ter Stegen having proven to be a top-class goalkeeper.