Latest reports from ESPN have claimed that Barcelona and Edinson Cavani have made contact ahead of a summer transfer move for the Manchester United striker.
Cavani, 34, has a contract at United until the end of the 2021/22 season but has fallen down the pecking order at the club, making only eight appearances this season following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The reports suggest that the contact between both parties was to gauge Cavani’s interest following comments from the striker (via The Times) about wanting a Barcelona move earlier in the season.
Barcelona is currently on the hunt for attacking reinforcements due to the fitness issues being suffered by that section of their squad. ESPN sources report that Barcelona are only targeting players who have not played regularly for their clubs this season.
ESPN also reports that while Cavani is very much interested in a Barcelona move, he plans to speak with incoming interim manager Ralf Rangnick about his plans before making a decision.
Barcelona’s financial problems making negotiations difficult
Barcelona are in serious debt and is looking to save money anyhow they can. This includes selling off players and getting in players on loan or on a free transfer in the coming window.
The Catalan club’s financial situation is making most of their endeavours difficult, but Barcelona CEO Ferran Reverter has now confirmed the club will be able to sign players in January, but that they will have to be clever about how they fund any new arrivals.
This is why, according to reports, Barcelona is only going after players who have not played much for their clubs with hopes of getting them on loan without an obligation to make the move permanent or on a short-term contract.
The 34-year-old Uruguayan fits what the club wants, but the club is also looking at Manchester City’s Ferran Torres and Raheem Sterling, as well as Chelsea’s Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
Barcelona and Real Madrid battle LaLiga over CVC investment
Elsewhere, Barcelona and Real Madrid, along with Athletic Club Bilbao have written to other LaLiga clubs to support their bid to thwart private equity group CVC’s €2bn cash injection into Spanish football.
Financial Times reports that both clubs, who are still after their European Super League bid which was rejected by football governing bodies, have a counter-offer which they claim is economically superior to the CVC and LaLiga offer.
LaLiga have called the latest moves by Barcelona and Real Madrid “hypothetical”, and labelled it an “improvised proposal elaborated without the minimum rigour required”.
LaLiga will be presenting the full details of the CVC deal to all the clubs in the first and second division of the competition on December 10.
Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are working with Bank of America, JPMorgan and HSBC on their own alternative funding, hope to be able to convince the other clubs to pay no heed to the LaLiga and CVC deal.
