At the group stage of the Champions League, Barcelona will be eliminated.
Barcelona may suffer financial consequences as a result of their second consecutive group-stage elimination from the Champions League. Xavi’s team knew they were out of the tournament before their match with the Bundesliga team as Inter thrashed Viktoria Plzen 4-0 on Wednesday, but they still needed the Czech team to overcome Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
The Catalan giants mortgaged a portion of their future earnings in order to make large short-term purchases, including the signings of Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Bellerin, and Marcos Alonso. However, if they are unable to make money from the Champions League’s later stages, they may be forced to make sales during the transfer window. Express Sport examines six players whom Barcelona may have to offload.
Frenkie de Jong
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It was widely known that Barcelona tried to trade Frenkie de Jong to Manchester United in the summer. The Red Devils pursued the Dutch playmaker throughout the whole transfer window, but were unable to persuade him to move to Old Trafford because of unpaid payments from Barcelona.
Although De Jong has been a consistent member of Barcelona’s lineup this season and may draw interest from Erik ten Hag’s team once more, it wouldn’t be surprising if Barcelona made another effort to offload the Dutch international because he could command the highest transfer fee of all the players the team is willing to let go.
Ousmane Dembele
Although Ousmane Dembele has already established himself as an important player for Barcelona, the team is aware that there are a number of Premier League clubs who are interested in signing him and are prepared to pay a high price for his services. Last summer, the French winger had the option of leaving the Nou Camp for free, but instead, he agreed to a new contract to work with Xavi.
Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay, the captain of Holland, was another player who might have left Barcelona in the summer on a free transfer but stayed with the team. His move from Lyon to La Liga after several successful seasons in France has not been successful, but his talent is well-known and he might make a name for himself as his nation’s talisman at the World Cup.
Franck Kessie
Franck Kessie only moved to Barcelona from AC Milan in the summer on a free transfer, but he hasn’t played much because of the tough competition for playing time with Sergio Busquets, De Jong, Pedri, and Gavi. Because Busquets’ contract expires at the end of the current campaign, it is also doubtful that Xavi sees the Ivorian as a potential replacement.
Ruben Neves, a star for Wolves, has even been mentioned as a potential addition to Barcelona’s midfield. However, with competition already fierce, Kessie may need to make room for a potential departure.
Ferran Torres
Ferran Torres was transferred from Manchester City to Barcelona at a premium, and according to a Spanish outlet, CCMA, Barcelona still owes Pep Guardiola’s team more than £40 million for the transfer. The Spaniard will have fans again in the Premier League, but if Barcelona is keen to get his salaries off the books, they might be inventive and send him back to City for a pittance, where Guardiola rated him.