French Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Brazilian Philippe Coutinho are at the top of a list of at least 9 players that Barcelona will be willing to give up this summer, according to a news report published today, Thursday.
Sky Sports News reported on its website today that although the future of Argentine magician Lionel Messi with the Catalan team is fully guaranteed, but the club's management will not be able to invest in more additions to the team except by arranging the departure of some important players.
The network indicated that Griezmann is undoubtedly the most striking name among the group because of the large amount incurred by Barcelona's treasury to sign him from Atletico Madrid two years ago, which exceeds 120 million euros, as he was the owner of the fifth most expensive transfer ever at that time.
The sports network indicated that Coutinho, Dembele and Danish international striker Martin Braithwaite are also at the forefront of the publicity campaign to obtain funds to enhance the financial resources of the club burdened with huge debts that have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Barcelona believes that Braithwaite - in particular - has increased in value due to his performance with his country at the European Nations Cup (Euro 2020), knowing that he was one of the cheapest arrivals in Catalonia, where his transfer cost was approximately $ 20 million, which is the value of the penalty clause. On his contract with his former club Leganes in February 2020.
Griezmann is considered one of the highest paid players in world football, while Barcelona also needs to reduce the wage bill for its players, which led to recent discussions about a possible exchange that would have seen his return to Atletico and the joining of Saul Niguez to Barcelona, but the two clubs were unable to reach an agreement, according to Sky.
The same source added that Griezmann's high salary means that there are only a few clubs that can afford him.
Sky also hinted that Dembele and Clement Lenglet are other prominent names that Barcelona will be willing to listen to offers or at least include in the swap deals for their goals, in addition to goalkeeper Neto and right-backs Emerson and Moussa Waghi.
At the end of its report, the network revealed that the Barcelona administration is in talks with a number of veteran players, such as Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Serge Roberto, about extending contracts and wants them to follow Messi's example in reducing their salaries.