While Barcelona are still under the effects of the traumatic departure of Leo Messi, Ronald Koeman tries to isolate himself from the noise and overcome the obstacle course to try to compose an eleven for the start of the season against Real Society. Barça know that on Sunday there will be 30,000 spectators in the return of the public at the Camp Nou, a year and a half later and in the first official match without their star. What he still doesn’t know is whether he will be able to count on Memphis Depay, called to be the offensive beacon in Leo’s absence.
Lower salaries anyway
According to Joan Laporta, since Leo was not renewed, the wage bill went from representing 110% to 95% of income. But the club needs to lower salaries if it wants to be able to enroll in Memphis. With Kun Agüero injured, Eric Garcia just landed in the double of Euro and Games and Emerson at the moment without being a priority on the right side, the primary goal is to be able to register the Dutch striker. Not only because of the absence of Messi, who last year scored more goals in the league (30), than the other six strikers together (Trincao, Ansu Fati, Dembélé, Braithwaite, Coutinho and Griezmann). If not because the first is no longer there, the second and third are injured and the fourth and fifth are on the transferable roster. Koeman goes short of artillery.
London «calling»
If he wants to play against Real, he has time to register until Friday, the day LaLliga raises the curtain. The club, which needs an extra salary saving of 20%, hopes to concretize in these three days the salary reduction of the four captains -Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Piqué and the newly appointed Alba- and give way to Umtiti and Pjanic (who is still without concretize his round trip to Turin). He also longs to be able to send to London Braithwaite, who after the European Championship has aroused the interest of West Ham and Tottenham. Unlike the Frenchman and the Bosnian, the club sees it feasible to cash in on the Dane, recovering almost all of the 18 million it paid for him.
Pedri returns
Koeman lacked cash: Ilaix is still sidelined for not wanting to renew and Mingueza has returned injured from the Games (he has for three weeks) and joins an infirmary in which, in addition to Ter Stegen, Dembélé and Ansu Fati, are Agüero, the transferable Lenglet, that of the Gavi planter (of the few good Catalan news this summer) and De Jong. Pedri, after the marathon of 71 official matches (plus two friendlies with Spain and three with Barça) last season, wants to train again tomorrow to lend a hand. He never seems to get tired, the Canarian footballer. Because in the club season, we must add the two tournaments he has played with the shirt of the Spanish team: the European Championship and the Olympic Games. We hope he doesn’t bill you.
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