PETE JENSON: Barcelona still need to raise MORE money to register new signings

Will Xavi get his Barcelona dream? Man United target Frenkie de Jong is STILL up for sale as club scramble for more funds to add Azpilicueta to Lewandowski, Raphinha, Christensen and Kessie

  • Barcelona are pushing for more signings after a busy summer window so far 
  • The club have now agreed a deal with Bayern Munich for Robert Lewandowski
  • They want to conclude the signing of Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta  
  • Barcelona though still need to raise money to register their stellar new signings 
  • Frenkie de Jong is up for sale with Manchester United the heavy favourites 

Barcelona are close to giving Xavi the dream team he asked for at the end of last season but they still need to bring money in to be able to register their stellar line-up of new signings.

That will mean leasing more of the club’s future TV rights in a deal likely to be announced next week and could still mean selling players such as Frenkie de Jong.

Club president Joan Laporta said on Friday that Xavi had asked for De Jong to travel with the team to Miami this weekend but the club have spent the last month trying to sell the 25-year-old midfielder to Manchester United and the stance has not changed despite public declarations to the contrary.

Barcelona still need to raise money to raise money to register new signings including Raphinha

Coach Xavi has a good idea of his dream team but more work needs to be done to achieve it

Coach Xavi has a good idea of his dream team but more work needs to be done to achieve it

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is closing in on a deal to join the Spanish giants

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is closing in on a deal to join the Spanish giants

De Jong posted a picture of himself with Memphis Depay on social media on Friday and the striker is the other playing asset Barcelona remains committed to selling if they can.

The Catalan club have now presented four new players, secured the signing of a fifth, and want to bring in Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea. But they need to satisfy LaLiga’s financial fairplay rules to be able to register them.

Danish defender Andreas Christensen, Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie, out of contract Ousmane Dembele and former Leeds winger Raphinha have all been presented. 

And having reached full agreement with Bayern Munich for Robert Lewandowski he can now join them on their US tour. If Chelsea sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla, as the Spanish club expect, that makes Azpilicueta’s arrival at the Camp Nou more likely.

The new additions mean players including Frenkie de Jong are up for sale this summer

The new additions mean players including Frenkie de Jong are up for sale this summer

Erik ten Hag has made Barcelona midfielder De Jong his priority signing this summer

Erik ten Hag has made Barcelona midfielder De Jong his priority signing this summer

But Laporta’s challenge now is to be able to satisfy LaLiga’s financial regulations so that they can register the six arrivals before the season starts.

The club have already agreed to sell 10 per cent of their TV rights over the next 25 years to American investment firm Sixth Street Partners in a deal worth 207million euros (£175m) and Laporta will sign with the San Francisco-based investment fund in the next few days.

Next week Barcelona are expected to make a similar deal for a further 10 per cent of future TV rights also worth around 200m euros (£170m). 

And a deal to sell-off Barca Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) is still likely to be closed before the start of the new season.

Laporta is confident the leasing of BLM will also raise 200m euros. If the club complete all three deals it will bring in a total of 600m euros (£510m). 

They will then need to negotiate with LaLiga over how many players the cash injection allows them to register but De Jong’s departure and the exit of other surplus stars such as Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite will remain on the table until the window closes at the end of August.

Raphinha is the most recent player to join the club in a busy transfer window so far

Raphinha is the most recent player to join the club in a busy transfer window so far

Barcelona have massive overbooking in attack and in midfield. Xavi wants six attackers and with the arrival of Lewandowski he has eight. 

The Barca coach wants the Polish forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Dembele, Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati as his six with Memphis and Braithwaite moved on.

In midfield he also wants a six-man squad but currently has nine with Kessie, Gavi, Miralem Pjanic, Pedri, De Jong, Pablo Torre, Alex Collado and Nico.

Barcelona have until the end of next month to register all their new signings and bring in another defender. 

Sevilla defender Kounde and Chelsea’s Spain international Azpilicueta have long been the two best placed options with the latter more likely to arrive if the former, as Sevilla expect, ends up signing for Chelsea.



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