With Dembele's contract about to expire, the renewal of the contract between the two sides has stalled due to a huge disagreement over salary and treatment. As a result, Barca have launched a plan to find a replacement. At present, Leeds United's Brazilian winger Rafinha is the number one target, and Barca's related work is also in full swing. Earlier, the latest news came from Spain's "Daily Sports" that Barca had raised its offer!
The media said Barca was willing to offer Leeds United winger Rafinha a floating offer of 40 million + 10 million euros. This basically reached the psychological price of 50 million in Leeds United. However, Leeds United are not in a hurry to sell players as they are not bothered by financial problems. However, Barca will not participate in any bidding wars, they will not make a new offer, leeds United need to decide whether to accept or reject this offer.
The total price is 50 million euros, which is a big increase of 15 million from the 35 million previously reported by the Daily Sports. If the report is true, this is enough to illustrate a few points: first, Barca's interest in Rafinha is very strong; second, Barca basically acquiesced to Dembele's departure.
Now that Barca have shown their hole cards, 50 million euros can also be said to be the ultimate offer. Why are Barca so confident that Leeds United will agree to negotiate with them? Because they have 2 rough winning magic weapons in their hands.
First, Rafinha's agent Deco is "his own man.". We know that players have the right to decide their future, but agents play a non-negligible role in player transfers. Agents need to be responsible for the player's career and pick the right team for the player. And negotiate with these teams to maximize the interests of the players, but also involve commissions, signing fees and other issues.
But many of these details are subjective judgments of brokers. As a club star, Deco has a very clear understanding of Barca's environment, atmosphere and tactical play. In addition, he is also a Scout for Barca in South America, and this dual identity together determines his position. When people talk about trades, many of the problems that seem difficult to solve in other clubs are not problems.
Second, Rafinha's personal will. Agents are key, but players are decisive. From the current reports of various media and famous Romano, it can be seen that Rafinha is also very eager to join Barca. Some media even said that Rafinha had no intention of listening to offers from other clubs, and even if Bayern and Liverpool offered him better contracts, he still longed for Camp Nou. The "Daily Sports" is even more exposed that Barca and Rafinha have reached an agreement on the completion of personal terms.
See, the agent is his own person, the players are not Barcelona, and other teams have no need to compete.
Therefore, for Leeds United, it is no longer a matter of selling or not selling in this transaction, but to ask for as much transfer fee as possible. According to the previous news of the "World Sports Newspaper", Leeds United believes that Rafinha's value should be similar to that of Ferran Torres. Previously, Ferran Torres' transfer fee to barca was 55 million + 10 million floating, which is 15 million more than Barca's offer.
With these two winning magic weapons in hand, Barca certainly will not be in a hurry. However, Leeds United will have to work harder for the rest of the season, because if they are unfortunate to be relegated, the 25 million euros severance clause in Rafinha's contract will be automatically activated, when Barca will be able to get the hot winger for "cabbage price".
Leeds United have finished 30 rounds, seven points ahead of the relegation zone, but with one more game. There are 24 points left in the remaining 8 rounds to fight for, but after watching the schedule, I can't help but sweat for Leeds United. Of the remaining 8 opponents, Leeds United will face Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, and two relegation direct rivals Watford and Brentford, and the remaining Brighton, Crystal Palace and Southampton will also have great or little pressure to survive.
In short, any of the last 8 games is an uphill battle, and the slightest carelessness may be close to the relegation zone, while Barca, which has a clear advantage, only needs to wait and see.