Barcelona outcast could still leave club to help reduce wage bill - Reports

Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic could leave the club despite the end of the summer transfer window, according to Spanish journalist Alfredo Martinez.

The Blaugrana were in deep financial crisis this summer. That prompted the club to ask some of their players, including Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, to reduce their wages for the club to register new signings - Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia.

Barcelona managed to reduce their wages by €125 million this summer, but are now planning to reduce it even further by offloading Pjanic, who is deemed surplus to requirements by manager Ronald Koeman.

According to Martinez, Barcelona are trying to sell Miralem Pjanic after failing to find a suitable buyer for him during the summer. As things stand, the remaining plausible destinations for Pjanic could be the Russian Premier League, Turkish Super League or the Middle East.

Barcelona have had several players, apart from Pjanic, who have been on the transfer market, including Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet. However, all three are still in Barcelona's books after failing to secure moves away from the Camp Nou.

Pjanic aún podría salir del Barcelona en este mercado. Hay opciones en la liga rusa , la liga turca y en Emiratos árabes . El Barcelona trabaja por aligerar más la masa salarial rebajada ya en 125 M € en este mercado sin contar el ahorro de la ficha de Messi

— Alfredo Martínez (@Alfremartinezz) September 1, 2021

Miralem Pjanic arrived in Barcelona from Juventus in the summer of 2020, but has had a terrible time in La Liga. The 31-year-old midfielder failed to register a single goal or an assist last season, prompting the Blaugrana to think of selling the midfielder and cut their losses.

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Barcelona had some major outgoings on deadline day

Barcelona had a busy transfer-deadline day on Tuesday, which saw a host of players leave the Camp Nou. In one of the major deadline-day deals, Antoine Griezmann rejoined Atletico Madrid on an initial loan deal with an option to make the deal permanent next summer for €40 million.

Barcelona have been looking to cut their losses on the French international after signing the forward from the La Liga champions in 2019 for €120 million. As his replacement, the Bluagrana have signed Luuk De Jong on loan from Sevilla.

There were two other Barcelona outgoings on deadline day. Emerson Royal has moved to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for €25 million, while the young Ilaix Moriba has left Barcelona to join Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig for €16 million.

🔴⚪️ #GriezbackAntoine Griezmann is back at Atleti! pic.twitter.com/CI3hT87osJ

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) August 31, 2021

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