Barcelona willing to do anything to force player out of club: Reports

La Liga giants Barcelona are reportedly (via Sport) prepared to go to any extent to force Martin Braithwaite out of the club this summer. The Danish striker still has almost two years remaining on his contract with the Blaugrana.

Barcelona signed Braithwaite in February 2020, paying Leganes €18 million for his services. He appeared in 11 La Liga games for the Catalan giants in his debut campaign, scoring once. He saw a lot of first-team football the following season, scoring seven goals and providing four assists in 42 games across competitions.

Since the 2021-22 season, however, action has dried up for him and Barcelona no longer see him as an important member of the squad. Barca have had offers for the player, but the 31-year-old is not willing to leave the club.

As per Sport, Braithwaite is not sticking around for his salary as he is one of the least paid players in the squad. He is seemingly unwilling to go through the hassle of leaving familiar surroundings and joining a new club.

Barca, however, are determined to force him out of the club by any means necessary. Their actions could be forceful, and they would make life difficult for players who do not accept viable offers.

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Barcelona need funds from player sales to strengthen their squad this summer

Thanks to their new sponsors, Spotify, and the partial sale of TV rights, licensing and merchandising division, Barca are in a considerably better financial state than they were last year.

They have already registered Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie as new players and Robert Lewandowski’s transfer could also take place sooner rather than later (via Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg).

Leeds United winger Raphinha is also inching closer to the club (via Fabrizio Romano), which could make Barca a formidable unit.

However, Xavi’s team cannot continue to spend without consequences. They need to find a way to sell their underperforming assets to make room for new players. Unless they generate funds from player sales, their debt problems might not go away any time soon.

In a sea of talented forwards at Barcelona, Braithwaite is unlikely to get the chance to prove his mettle. Irrespective of how low his salary is, Barca cannot afford to keep a non-performing player on their payroll.

A forcible removal seems to be on the horizon, and we are afraid that it could get rather ugly for the Denmark international, who has registered 10 goals and five assists in 57 appearances across competitions for Barca.

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