Barcelona's €100 million problem

Griezmann consequences spill over

Posted Monday, June 25, 2018 by Marca.com

With Barcelona going so public about their intent to sign Antoine Griezmann for 100 million euros, the world found out exactly how much money the Catalans have to spend this summer.

The striker's decision to stay with Atletico Madrid forced the Blaugrana into looking elsewhere with the centre of the park becoming their major concern.

However deals for Miralem Pjanic and Thiago Alcantara have been inflated by the awareness of rival clubs regarding Barcelona's transfer kitty.

Juventus have slapped an 80m euro price tag on 28-year-old Pjanic with Bayern refusing to play ball in a deal for Thiago unless it reaches 70m euros, demands that outweigh each players' market value in spite of their undoubted quality.

And with Ajax refusing to even discuss Frenkie de Jong's future, this has forced Eric Abidal & Co. into shuffling their priorities and pressing Gremio for an early release of midfielder Arthur.

Originally planned to move from the Brazilian side in the winter, Barcelona are in talks to seal his switch for pre-season's commencement on July 11.

In addition, Clement Lenglet's signature is considered more or less sealed given that his release clause of 35m euros won't change and the club can count on his arrival from Sevilla to at least reinforce Ernesto Valverde's defence.