Barcelona plan to force Leeds United into second Raphinha reduction
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has moved to calm Leeds United star Raphinha over his stalled move amid new manoeuvres, according to Sport.
The Brazilian’s move to the Camp Nou was looking dead in the water thanks to the major debt at the Catalan club, but after an assembly of their members voted to sell off part of their merchandise and TV rights they should be in line for a major cash injection.
As the player has so far held on in an apparent commitment to the Blaugrana, the club chief has reportedly reached out to him personally to reassure him the move will happen if he continues to hold.
Despite the fact that reportedly “optimism reigns” at Barca “with an intensity that has not existed until now” this apparently doesn’t mean they are ready to offer Leeds what they want.
The asking price was thought to be between £60million and £70million according to Phil Hay in The Athletic, but the Spanish report says that it was actually €65million originally [£55.8million], and that director of football Mateu Alemany has already negotiated it down to €50million [£42.9million].
Not satisfied with this however, the Catalan giants have reportedly only budgeted around €40million [£34.3million] and plan to push the price down towards that amount, with personal terms already agreed.
Square one
Despite what ESPN report could be as much as a €700million windfall for the two deals they are now permitted to carry out, the side from La Liga still seem to want to haggle with United.
They have benefited heavily from the fact that their former player, and unofficial South American scout, Deco is at the centre of the whole thing as Raphinha’s agent.
According to separate report from Sport it is he more than the player who has kept heavy interest from the Premier League at bay, and without him the 25-year-old would already have signed for Chelsea or Liverpool.
In the circumstances, it would seem logical that if they see the former Rennes winger as so key to their operation they would come forward with the asking price.
The number quoted here is only a small amount higher than the relegation release clause that they looked to be relying on until Jesse Marsch’s side avoided the drop on the final day of the Premier League season.
Negotiators at Elland Road are surely not going to accept a figure so low, so the negotiations will have to go through an official version of what appears to have happened by proxy through Deco once already.
Of course they want to pay as little as possible, and of course the Whites want to hold out for as much as possible, but the numbers coming out from the Elland Road side of this deal are far more realistic than the opposite side.
A move to the Camp Nou may be back on but it is difficult to see how their new-found optimism can translate into a cut-price fee on top.
In other Leeds United news, a big club is open to letting a number of prospects go to Elland Road, but not the one that the Whites really want.