Barcelona president Joan Laporta boasted last weekend that they would reach positive resolutions in every single one of their transfer ambitions after pulling financial levers like they’re in some casino — except these levers pay out handsomely — and that indeed appears to be the case.
In the past week, they’ve announced the signings of both Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessié on free transfers, have continued to stand strong on Frenkie De Jong, and now look to have broken through in not only re-signing Ousmane Dembélé but also adding Raphinha.
Dembélé acepta seguir en el Barça en los parámetros propuestos por el club. Quedan pequeños detalles por pulir pero asume la base de lo que ofrecen (se explicó que había una rebaja del 40%). Ahora el jugador está pendiente de que el club ratifique su OK para cerrar acuerdo.
— Fernando Polo (@ffpolo) July 8, 2022
Dembélé officially became a free agent on July 1, but that didn’t really change his overall situation. Chelsea certainly didn’t seem to be pushing too hard beyond our initial reported contacts. Barca meanwhile seem to have softened their stance just enough to break through. Dembélé’s return is not yet official, but it’s quite likely at this point.
| Raphinha will JOIN Barcelona. It doesn't matter whether Dembélé stays or not. [@gerardromero] #fcblive
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) July 8, 2022
In addition, Barcelona have now managed to match Chelsea’s offer for Raphinha — structured differently but same overall value (or at least same ballpark) — and the expectation is that Leeds United will find this acceptable. As soon as they do, Raphinha will be able to choose his heart-club over his brain-club. Oh well.
Barcelona iguala valor da proposta do Chelsea por Raphinha
— Raisa Simplicio (@simpraisa) July 8, 2022
As condições ainda são diferentes como tempo de pagamento, montante fixo + variável e etc, mas o clube catalão chegou no mesmo valor total.
Parceria @thirfernandes https://t.co/HbqpdYox6d
At the end of the day, neither of these developments really affect Chelsea that much, despite the meaty sagas around both. Raheem Sterling looks to be our big arrival in attack and the focus should be and needs to be on the defense anyway.
Barcelona bid for Raphinha has been improved in the last 24 hours, still not matching £60m Chelsea bid accepted by Leeds. Raphinha wants to wait for Barça. #FCB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 8, 2022
Ousmane Dembélé accepted the new contract proposal, but now it depends on Barça.
More: https://t.co/s2qyqfzQvi pic.twitter.com/q1ZntyFub0
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