On Sunday, Barcelona sporting director Deco decided it was time to make a statement and flew to Germany as he pursued a deal for RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Dani Olmo.
Negotiations had been taking place for weeks with the player’s camp but intensified as the prospect faded of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams arriving. On Tuesday, The Athletic reported that Barca had reached an agreement in principle with Leipzig to sign Olmo for a fee in the region of €60million ($66m; £52m), including add-ons.
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Signing one of the stars of Spain’s successful European Championship campaign will be Deco’s biggest coup yet in this role. But it is not the most difficult task he faces this summer: Barca have real work to do when it comes to selling players and balancing their books.
Barca are able to sign players but, as it stands, no new arrivals can be registered with La Liga as they are in breach of their competition-imposed salary limit, which is calculated according to a club’s revenue. Barca have a €100million hole in their 2023-24 accounts, partly due to the failure of their ‘Barca Studios’ scheme — where they hoped to raise funds through selling a stake in their media arm. Club sources — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect their roles — said they expect positive movement on this, this week.
Freeing up space on their wage bill would be a big help in being able to register players, but any exits appear to be stuck at present. None of the squad’s top earners are in a rush to leave.
So what is the situation with those names who they would consider selling?
Gundogan played 51 times for Barcelona over 2023-24, scoring five goals and delivering 14 assists — a career record for the midfielder who joined on a free transfer from Manchester City last summer. He was arguably the team’s most solid performer in an underwhelming season, but there are growing doubts over his future at the club.
Barca sources say they would be willing to speak to Gundogan, 33, and see if he is tempted to listen to offers from elsewhere.
Gundogan was one of the few top earners at the club who hadn’t been placed in that position earlier this summer, but he is determined to stay at Barca. That isn’t affected by the signing of Olmo, who can play in similar positions to the German. Sources close to Gundogan say he is comfortable in Barcelona and still sees himself as having an important role to play after trusting the board last summer.
Gundogan in pre-season action with Barca (Ira L. Black – Corbis/Getty Images)
“This is the situation most of the senior players in the Barcelona squad have found themselves in,” a source close to the Barca board told The Athletic. “(Frenkie) de Jong, Raphinha, (Andreas) Christensen, even (Robert) Lewandowski have been there.
“It’s not surprising to see the club testing the waters with Gundogan, but none of those players are in a rush to leave or to pursue a new contract. They are fine here.”
Gundogan is one of Barca’s few players who can operate in various roles in midfield and even as a false nine, which could see him given lots of opportunities in Hansi Flick’s new project. So any hope of offloading Gundogan’s salary seems unlikely.
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Araujo ticked a lot of boxes earlier this summer in terms of a big sale, with Barca hopeful they could attract offers in the region of €80million for the 25-year-old defender, who appears to have his best years ahead of him.
The Uruguayan’s contract is up in 2026 and he is expected to enter negotiations with the aim of getting a salary increase. Selling him would have avoided that, but the knee injury he suffered while playing for his country at the Copa America tore that idea to shreds.
Araujo was injured with Uruguay at the Copa America (Candice Ward/Getty Images)
Araujo was practically the only senior player due a salary upgrade, making him one of the few who would have been open to listening to offers from abroad. But now that discussion will have to wait until at least January, when Barca hope he will be back in action.
It wasn’t just Xavi that 19-year-old Brazilian striker Vitor Roque failed to convince last season. Flick has also been less than impressed with a player whose fixed €30million signing from Athletico Paranaense (with €31m more in potential add-ons) was brought forward to January.
Roque featured from the bench in Barcelona’s last two pre-season games against Real Madrid and AC Milan. Both Lewandowski and Pau Victor, 22, have overtaken him in the pecking order and he looks short of confidence whenever he steps on the pitch.
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Barcelona will work on finding a new destination for Roque in the coming weeks. He is yet to be registered — he was only able to play last season as he took up the injured Gavi’s space in the budget — and does not have a place in Flick’s team.
At the end of last term, his agent Andre Cury said the only way Roque would leave Barca would be on a permanent transfer rather than on loan. Roque has received approaches from clubs in the Saudi Pro League, but Barca sources say they expect him to stay in Europe if he does leave.
We are putting these two names together because they are quite similar cases.
Barca are not just looking to offload them because they aren’t in Flick’s plans, but also to get rid of their big wages. Lenglet, 29, and Fati’s wages are reported to be worth a combined €30million over 2024-25.
Fati underwhelmed on loan at Brighton (Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Lenglet is due some salary deferrals agreed during the Covid-19 pandemic, while the contract extension Fati signed in 2021 was when he was an up-and-coming star. The situation looks very different for the now 21-year-old after an underwhelming loan at Brighton last season, the emergence of Lamine Yamal and Olmo’s signing.
Barca might have considered keeping them if they had lower salaries, but they can’t afford to at present.
Mika Faye
The Athletic reported before Barca’s pre-season tour to the United States that negotiations had been held with FC Porto over a transfer for 20-year-old Senegalese centre-back Faye, but neither side was able to reach an agreement on figures.
Barce are still open to offers for Faye after his impressive season with their second team, Barcelona Atletic, in which he played 35 times and scored four goals. Barca signed him from Croatian side NK Kustosija last year for €1.5million, so he is seen as a player who could make a good profit.
Barca’s first team are well-stocked in central defence and it’s difficult to see Faye forcing his way into Flick’s plans, so it’s worth keeping an eye on him.
A United States-born right-back who has played for Mexico and spent last season on loan at Las Palmas, Araujo is not expected to stay at Barca. He was unable to impress Flick this summer and the German manager has so far preferred La Masia graduates Hector Fort and Alex Valle in his position.
Barca are ready to find the 22-year-old a new destination, with Sevilla reported to be an option after they appointed his coach from last season, Francisco Javier Garcia Pimienta. Both a loan and a permanent sale are still on the table.
(Top photo: Getty Images)
