Barcelona could offload 18 players this summer to clear £862M debt - Reports

Due to major financial difficulties at the club, Barcelona have decided to sell as many as 18 first-team players this summer. The club wants to raise funds to pay off their £892 million debt, as reported by the Express.

Barcelona have failed to balance their books after spending huge sums of money on players such as Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho. Moreover, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for Barca to raise revenue through ticket sales and TV rights. This has put the club in a precarious position.

Barcelona are keen to sell Philippe Coutinho, Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti. These players are on high wages and make little to no contribution to the first team.

Other players who are at risk of being sold this summer include Junior Firpo, Martin Braithwaite and Matheus Fernandes.

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Barcelona 'put 18 players up for sale to clear £862m debt' leaving five untouchable starshttps://t.co/ikKwFbwZPk

— Express Sport (@DExpress_Sport) June 8, 2021

Barcelona only consider 5 players to be "untouchable"

Out of the entire first-team squad, Barcelona only sees five players who are currently untouchable and not for sale. The list includes Lionel Messi, Frankie de Jong, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo and Pedri.

Lionel Messi is rumored to be on the verge of signing a new two-year deal with Barcelona, ending rumors of a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City.

According to Goal.com, the Catalan giants are prepared to sit down with first-team regulars including Antoine Griezmann, Clement Lenglet, Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to persuade them to reduce their wages.

Club president Joan Laporta wants the aforementioned players to stay at Nou Camp but if Barcelona gets good offers for them, the club will not hesitate in selling these players this summer.

Sergino Dest, Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele are at risk of not getting a second chance at the Nou Camp either.

Philippe Coutinho, Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti are among the players Barcelona could sell this summer, Goal can confirm 💰 pic.twitter.com/0VG6B2AyqL

— Goal (@goal) June 8, 2021

Due to financial problems at the club, Barcelona have been forced into signing free agents and youngsters this summer in order to strengthen their squad for next season.

Barcelona have already signed Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero from Manchester City on free transfers alongside Emerson Royal, who cost them €9 million (from Real Betis).

Barcelona are also closing in on Lyon forward Memphis Depay, who will be the third free agent to join them this summer.

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