Barcelona believe they might have to sell star for €60m to raise funds to register new signings - Reports

Barcelona could have to sell attacker Ansu Fati in the summer if they need cash to register their new signings.

So far, Barca have been smart with their spending this summer. They have signed Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City and Inigo Martinez from Athletic Bilbao on free transfers.

Oriol Romeu's acquisition from Girona, meanwhile, set them back by €3.4 million. Barca, though, still have the task of registering them for the new season, an issue that tormented them last summer.

Barca had to activate several economic levels to sign and register stars like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde. This season, they could raise funds to register their new signings by offloading players.

However, according to El Nacional, Barca are struggling to offload expendable players as quickly as they would have wanted to. If, in the final days of the transfer window, they do not have the funds to register their new arrivals, Fati could be jettisoned.

The Spanish winger is valued at €60 million by the Blaugrana — the figure they would need to register their new arrivals. They're also hoping to raise funds for more signings, with manager Xavi Hernandez keen to sign a quality right-back and midfielder.

Hence, Fati's future at the Camp Nou has once again come under doubt. Last season, his father had claimed that his son could leave Barcelona if he wasn't accorded more playing time.

The 20-year-old ended the 2022-23 season with just 12 La Liga starts. His contract, meanwhile, has four years left in it and includes a reported €1 billion release clause.

---

Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez says Xavi congratulated him on his arrival

Gerard Pique's retirement last year coupled with Samuel Umtiti's exit as a free agent this summer raised the need for a new centre-back at Barcelona.

The Blaugrana turned to Inigo Martinez (32), who ran down his contract at Athletic Bilbao to sign a two-year deal with Barcelona. He told the club website that he was congratulated by manager Xavi Hernandez on his arrival:

"He congratulated me on my arrival. He has shown confidence in me, and that is very important for a player.

"The truth is I have not had much time to talk because the last few days I have been training apart from the squad as part of my recovery – in the days to come we will talk more."

Xavi has Martinez, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo as his centre-back options. Clement Lenglet is reportedly close to joining Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent transfer (h/t SPORT).