Barcelona dealt transfer blow as free agent target likely to renew contract with current club - Reports

Barcelona are currently struggling to come out of financial doldrums, which have forced them to place potential free agents and out-of-favor players on their radar.

This has seen the Blaugrana keep their eyes on Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard, but it seems as though the right-back will renew at the Allianz Arena.

Barca cannot afford to make massive purchases in the transfer market, even though they are succeeding in the La Liga, and this has seen them chase after Pavard. The defender looked like he wouldn't see out his contract with the Bavarians, which ends in the summer of 2024.

This has been due to altercations between the player and the coaching staff, which reportedly placed him on the pathway to leave the club at an affordable fee for Barcelona. However, Pavard does not want to be linked with a move to Camp Nou, according to SPORT (via Barca Universal).

This has seen him work on fixing his relationship with the Bayern Munich coaching staff, while restarting talks about a contract renewal in the coming months. However, there are no guarantees that the two parties will come to an agreement, which will give the Spanish giants some hope of convincing him on a move.

Bayern have not made it easy, having revealed that they would only consider €30 million, which would be difficult for the Blaugrana to pay. The 26-year-old has been a squad player for the Bavarians, racking up 18 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Barcelona will need to look for a way to reduce Bayern's requested price, while hoping they can change Pavard's mind.

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Barcelona are currently dealing with new refereeing scandal

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has stated that the Catalan giants will provide an explanation regarding payments that were made to a company owned by a referee in Spain. This follows an investigation that revealed that Barca paid €1.4 million to VP of the Technical Committee of Referees Jose Negreira's company between 2016 and 2018.

Speaking to the press, Laporta said (via Barca Blaugranes):

“These works were done with the corresponding invoice and have the corresponding documentary and video support of some services that had been provided. Shortly, in the shortest possible time, we will hold a press conference to explain all the information we have in the club about this whole issue."

He continued:

“Mr. Tebas has once again shown his face. They already told us that he was fomenting a campaign against Barca and myself. The mask has already been removed again."