Xavi Hernández could not hide his satisfaction after learning that the Extraordinary Assembly on Thursday had approved by a large majority the activation of the levers that will allow the season to end with a positive balance and to be able to recover the financial ‘fair play’ to go to the market under the same conditions as the rest of the rivals. It was the president himself, Joan Laporta, who gave him the good news: the coach, who was in Seville to attend Jordi Alba’s wedding, traveled the day before to go with his wife to the Alejandro Sanz concert, with the soccer players Joaquín, Bartra and Santi Cazorla, as hosts.
Xavi and Laporta had a long conversation to finish defining the roadmap. A plan that has been maturing for a long time with Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, but that could not be materialized until the club obtained the approval of the Assembly, since there was an absolute paralysis due to the lack of liquidity in the treasury and being handcuffed by the draconian Theban rules regarding the wage bill. With the green light to the levers, Barcelona opens the tap to financing and hopes to receive a first remittance of 600 million euros to be able to go on the market without the ballast of red numbers.
Xavi insisted on the need to make a strong commitment to two footballers: Bayern Munich’s Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski, and Sevilla’s French central defender, Jules Koundé. For the coach, there are two priority reinforcements that will sustain the project: one is called to lead and settle the defense, and the other has to bring together the team’s offensive power. And furthermore, Xavi warned the president about the need to carry out the two signings as soon as possible, since wants to count on them for the American tour in mid-July.
Barcelona would be willing to reach 40 million for Lewandowski, while for Koundé they are waiting to include a player in the operation to lower the 80 million demanded by the Seville entity. The Catalan entity is confident that the good relationship between Xavi and Fernando Navarro, Monchi’s second, softens the leaders of Sevilla a bit and allows the transfer to be carried out, which could have Sergiño Dest as a bargaining chip.
The situation of other reinforcements was also discussed, such as the case of Raphinha, a player whom Xavi also considers vital, but who has set limits at the club: no more than 40 million will be paid by the end of the Leeds. In any case, there is a feeling in the club that the operation can be closed, especially taking into account the support of his agent, Deco, who is making bobbin lace to bring the Brazilian to Barcelona.
It would be the third reinforcement that would have to go through the box, but not the last. The name of Bernardo Silva was also in the conversation, but here everything is still very green and aims to become the soap opera of the summer. First, because in order to carry out this operation, the sale of Frenkie de Jong must be made effective. The minimum amount set by the club is 85 million euros. For now, United have only offered 70, so there is still a long way to go. Later, with the money in hand, they will have to deal with City, a tough nut to crack, who will not make it easy for the Blaugrana. In England there is talk of a starting price close to 100 million euros. The advantage that Barcelona has is that the Portuguese international is crazy about music to sign for Barcelona and his agent, Jorge Mendes, has promised him that he will do everything possible to close the operation
Less complicated is the possibility of signing the Chelsea wingers, Marcos Alonso and César Azpiliciueta. Each one with their particular circumstances, but both have committed themselves to the Blaugrana club and hope that the new owners of the entity do not put too many obstacles. Those who are already waiting only for the official announcement after closing an agreement with Barcelona a few months ago They are Chelsea’s Danish centre-back Andreas Christensen and Milan’s Ivorian midfielder Frank Kessié. The two arrive with the letter of freedom under their arms and are only waiting for Barcelona to release troops to fit them into next season’s project.
