“Mateu has told me that it seems that we do it. Mateu is working miracles”, proclaimed a euphoric Joan Laporta before Barça, in the time limit of the market, negotiated the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Gabonese striker (32 years old), who has been discarded by Arsenal.
Mateu is Mateu Alemany, the football director of the Barça club, who specified the details of Aubameyang’s arrival. Being released from the London club, Barça could sign him up when he has closed the last details of his personal agreement for a year and a half, although the deadline for him to enter the UEFA list for the Europa League is next February 2.
With nine, although Xavi preferred to have bruise, but neither Atlético nor Juventus agreed to the operation, and also with Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman has refused to accept all the ways out that Barça offered him, especially in the Premier.
🎙@xavitorresll: “The club is planning to donate the letter of liberty to DEMBÉLÉ”👋#OnzeE3 pic.twitter.com/0I7qm1ox9G
— Onze (@OnzeTv3) January 31, 2022
But he has not wanted to go to Chelsea or Tottenham either, so he will exhaust the final five months of his contract, leaving a big question for Xavi: What to do with Ousmane? Although the Barça club does not rule out until they grant him the letter of freedom, as revealed by the journalist Xavi Torres in the program Eleven of Esport 3.
aubameyang He will sign for a year and a half, despite the fact that Barça wanted him to do so only until June. Arsenal wanted to disassociate itself from its former captain, so it ended up being presented with the letter of freedom, thus forcing the Barça club to extend its commitment more than it had planned.
Although the final day of the Barça market was marked by tension and uncertainty. For example, a medical check-up was planned at five in the afternoon for the former striker of the English club, but it ended up being done at night.
The former Arsenal striker would sign for a year and a half, despite the fact that Barça only wanted him until June
In the offices of the sports city of Sant Joan Despí, Mateu Alemany, Barça’s director of football, was, meanwhile, directing operations. Time was running out on him. He was accompanied at all times by Jordi Cruyff, director of scouting international, although his figure, little by little, begins to gain weight in the sporting organizational chart of Barça, controlled, yes, by Alemany.
The negotiation with Aubameyang was complicated in the last few hours because he had to obtain the release letter from Arsenal
Finished the evening training, the first of Adama Traore as a Barça player, Xavi Y Oscar Hernandez, his brother and assistant coach, went to Alemany’s office, while Laporta attended the gala of the newspaper Sports world where the azulgrana were awarded Alexia Putellas as the best athlete next to the canoeist Saul Craviotto. “It seems that it will be done, it seems,” Laporta predicted from the podium. “When the gala finishes we will go to sign”, added the leader, while Alemany and Jordi Cruyff continued negotiating.
A negotiation that was complicated in the last hours. aubameyang He came for six months and, in the end, he signed for a year and a half. Why? Because Arsenal wanted to break any contractual ties with their former captain, which caused talks to come to a halt. The striker was willing to lower, and much, his salary until June. But he did not agree to do it any longer, so he was guaranteed to recover a part of his salary in the next season.
Xavi wanted to be informed at the time of the outcome of the negotiations, once it was assumed that Dembélé would stay. Barcelona failed to convince the French striker to pack his bags and leave the Camp Nou. “Dembélé? We have proposed various solutions and the last one is for him to go to an English club”, stressed Laporta, assuming that “the player has to accept it”.
Dembélé gets away with it and stays at Barça, now causing a problem for Xavi in managing the group
But Ousmane has gotten away with it. It doesn’t go anywhere. Nor did he contemplate the possibility of ending up at Tottenham or Chelsea, clubs that had been interested in him, as Laporta himself admitted. The light in Alemany’s office, located in the upper area of the sports city of Sant Joan Despí, was still on because the deadline was upon him. And this is no exaggeration, thus repeating the same tense process that was experienced in the summer when Griezman left on loan to Atlético de Madrid and Luuk de Jong appeared from Seville, also as loan.
Midnight was approaching from Monday to Tuesday, just in time, yes, to announce the signing of Aubameyang, the fourth addition to the convulsive winter market where Barça has gone to look for the Premier market. From Manchester City came Fernando (55 million), from Wolverhampton appeared adama (free) and Arsenal has been captured aubameyang in the last breath.
🤗 @AdamaTrd37 meet your new classmates pic.twitter.com/7fx50hpjkk
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) January 31, 2022
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But only three of those reinforcements will be able to register the Barça club in UEFA to play the tie against Napoli this February. So one is left over. Who does not feel that there is enough Dembele, whom Barça has pushed in every possible way to get him to leave. He, to his. From dribbling to dribbling without leaving the Camp Nou. And the question is: will Xavi play him?
www.elperiodico.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.