16 Jun 2016 10:34:31
Hey Eds,

As far as I can tell from your posts, Barcelona are willing to sell at least one of their trio of Neymar, Suarez and Messi.

I am just wondering about which clubs are interested in any of them, and are any likely to move! They would all come with huge costs, wages, agent fees, transfer fees etc but is it plausible for any of them to leave Barcelona this summer?

Your response is much appreciated and I'd like to thank Ed002 and all the other Eds for the amazing work you do on this site!

{Ed002's Note - It is certainly possible one would move but it is more of who would be interested should they become available.

Messi: It would not be an FFP issue in any one year for a number of clubs but it would be an issue for any club looking to do any other business over forthcoming years. And the amounts of money involved are well beyond significant. As I have explained before, although Barcelona have not been hawking Messi around, my expectation remains that Messi will be available and Barcelona will start looking to rebuild around Neymar from January 2016 when they can start bring players in again. And I expect that Barcelona will make Messi available from next summer - regardless of who the manager is at that time. As I have explained before, although Barcelona have not been hawking Messi around, my expectation remains that Messi will be available and Barcelona will start looking to rebuild around Neymar from January 2016 when they can start bringing players in again. And I expect that Barcelona will make Messi available from next summer - regardless of who the manager is at that time. Whether or not there would be any takers is another matter, and Barcelona are well aware of that and are looking at the sale of others to raise funds.

In the past Messi has turned down a transfer to one side who had agreed to meet Barcelona's then €250M price tag, and Barcelona and a commercial partner resisted an approach by a commercial organisation on behalf of an English side with an offer to buy, or at least part fund, the purchase of the player. I am aware that in Spain there has been speculation about an offer being made during the summer 2014 transfer window, but it is "largely" incorrect. This all started in 2012 when in mid December Anzhi made an offer to Barcelona that matched the €250M euro release clause that existed in his contract, and put up what I am told was a "very" significant personal package. However, Messi was not interested in a move to Russia and Barcelona did not want to sell - so Messi, in early February 2013, extended his contract with Barcelona. In the early summer of 2013 efforts were being made by Adidas to broker a deal that would get Messi away from Nike and to one of their three high-profile clubs that they were invoved with at the time. Very quickly Real Madrid were ruled out and with Pep Guardiola moving to Bayern Munich that pretty much saw the end of any chance of a move there (given the strained relationship) at the time. This left Chelsea, and I can confirm that discussions were held about making a firm bid - at this point we are in late 2013 and early 2014 and Messi was in a verbal spat with Barcelona about getting a further extension - which the club were against. Ultimately, the player was (at least in his eyes) available during the Spring of 2014 and at that point Chelsea and Adidas made his management representatives and Barcelona aware of what they would be willing to do to make a transfer happen. Since then he has again extended his contract with Barcelona and Chelsea and Adidas have parted company. I understand that again they see three possible destinations for the player but I am not going to get involved in any further speculation at this time – but one of those destinations is the new money of Manchester City. If the right money were offered to the club, then Barcelona would be open to selling - and if the package were good enough, the player would consider any offers. The difficulties include his tax issues and the vast amounts of money involved. Manchester City have already started to try and negotiate - they may persist else switch to Suarez.

A number of questions were asked of representatives of UEFA in December 2014 regarding the transfer of the financially very high-end players and the impact on FFP. It is clear that exceptions would need to be put in place as the alternative could be lawsuits from players regarding restrictions on trade. As such, it would not be an FFP issue in any one year for a number of clubs but it would be an issue for any club looking to do any other business over forthcoming years. And the amounts of money involved are well beyond significant.

Suarez:

Manchester City were keen on Suarez and have held discussions with his agent but he is not their first choice although he is probably a viable option for them.

Neymar: Barcelona need to start to rebuild their side and whilst their preference is to do it around Neymar they need to raise cash and, critically, lower wages to do that. There are a four issues that could adversely influence what will happen with that plan going forward - and that could potentially see Neymar sold. Barcelona need to sell rebuild and would certainly be open to selling one of their other major assets circumstances are such that it may not be possible to do that. The bans which, subject to appeal, will hit both Madrid clubs form January potentially buys Barcelona time in their rebuilding but they know Real Madrid are planning major changes in the summer. If he is to be available at some point, then the known interest of Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and one other side will no doubt be tested. It would not be out of the question for Manchester City to also think about putting a package together but their preference rests elsewhere. But any move in the short to medium term is very unlikely although efforts are being made by PSG to see if a deal could be put together.}

1.) 16 Jun 2016
16 Jun 2016 11:52:58
Top reply Ed, absolutely superb! Thank you very much, it really is appreciated! Keep up the great work you do!

{Ed002's Note - You are welcome.}