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Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has sent a strong message about Antoine Griezmann’s future at the Camp Nou ahead of the new La Liga season amid speculation the club is looking to sell the France international in the summer transfer window.
Koeman said he is “counting on” Griezmann for the 2021-22 campaign when asked about the Frenchman, as reported by Cristinna Navarro at Marca.
“Griezmann? He is very important because he has shown his quality, he was a great signing for Barcelona and I am counting on all the players I have at the moment,” he said. “I’m going to count on all the players we have and, if there is a change, we have to accept it, but that’s a thing for the club. We are trying to improve the team and we will see who stays and who will leave. There are a lot of decisions that we can’t say today.”
The Barcelona boss also admitted he is “concerned” with the situation regarding Lionel Messi who is currently a free agent after his contract with the club expired at the end of June.
The captain is expected to stay and sign a contract extension but Barca must offload players to trim the wage bill first. The 34-year-old is currently with the Argentina squad preparing for Saturday’s Copa America final against Brazil.
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Koeman Urges Barca To Keep Messi
Koeman added that Barcelona must do everything possible to keep Messi ahead of the new campaign. The Catalans are due to start pre-season training on Monday, July 12th to prepare for a first game of the new campaign on August 15th against Real Sociedad.
The Barcelona coach says it is important for Barcelona, and also La Liga, to have Messi remain at the club and continue his career at the Camp Nou, as reported by Diario Sport.
He explained, “It is very important for the club, but also for the Spanish League, that the best player in the world remains and we all have to make an effort to keep him with us.”
Koeman may be worried about the situation but he also admitted he has confidence that president Joan Laporta can resolve the situation regarding the club’s wage bill and Messi’s future. He added, “Always, when something like this is not solved, it is to be concerned; but I have full confidence in our president to solve it.”
Barca Told To Sell Players To Keep Messi
Barca has been warned that more players must be sold this summer to comply with La Liga’s salary cap if Messi is to stay. La Liga president Javier Tebas, told La Sexta it would be “impossible” for Barca to register Messi without other players leaving, as reported by AS.
Tebas also tipped Barca to overcome their financial problems because “they have the highest turnover in the world” and also offered a bit more detail regarding the issues with the wage bill, as reported by ESPN
“Barcelona are facing uncertain times but they will be able to solve their problems because they have the highest turnover in the world. When they get back to normal turnover, they will have restructured their debt and reduced their wage bill,” he explained. “Like others, due to pandemic, they have gone over their spending limit. When clubs go over, we have a rule called one by four. We allow new players [to be registered] whenever they reduce the current wage bill,” he said. “For each euro they want to use for signups, they have to save €4. For example, if the players that Barca have signed, [Sergio] Aguero and others, are going to cost €50m for the next season, it means €200m must be saved, either by transfers or by reducing the wage bill.”
Barca has already offloaded players such as Konrad de la Fuente, Junior Firpo, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Junior Firpo but may have to also wave goodbye to some of the club’s top earners too if they are to retain Messi.
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