According to Diario Sport, Barcelona have retired from the race to sign Franck Kessié because of the player’s economic demands.
The Ivory Coast international sees his contract expire at the end of the season and is unlikely to commit his future to the Rossoneri.
According to reports in Italy, Kessié wants a salary in the region of €8-9m, while the Rossoneri won’t offer more than €6m plus add-ons.
Several clubs have been linked with securing his services in the summer, but according to Diario Sport, Barcelona are no longer in the race to sign the 25-year-old.
The midfielder’s economic demands are described as ‘exorbitant’ and Barcelona can’t afford to match them given their financial struggles. The Catalans offered Kessié a €5m-a-year deal which Kessié and his agent reportedly turned down.
According to the report, several Premier League clubs are still in the race to sign Kessié and so is Juventus.
Last month, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Inter would also make their move to sign the former Atalanta star at the end of the season.
🚨NOTICIA SPORT🚨
❌¡El Barça se retira de la puja por Kessié!
💸Las exigencias económicas del marfileño son desorbitadas, más si cabe para un club con problemas con el límite salarial
✍️ @tomasandreu68https://t.co/qTbeki8AIQ
— Diario SPORT (@sport) February 9, 2022
Look, even Barca is only offering 5M…….
God, if he goes to Juventus or Inter. Come on Newcastle!
I am beginning to think there is more to this than meets the eye. When so much is on the line what is stopping Milan from offering him a little more, make him sign for 3 years. Sell him after 1 and recoup the extra wages paid by transfer fee ?
No doubt over simplified but in the end would other clubs be willing to give him an 8M$ salary if they had to pay a 30M$ transfer ?
Based on performances in my opinion he is worth 3.5m plus performance related bonuses max, he has done nothing this season to justify 6m a season we are offering, any team that takes him on and pays him 8m has money to waste, and I say well done to Kessie if he can get that. The Club will be just fine without him, as we are without Hakan or Donnarumma.
The only club desperate and hopeless enough to actually give in to those demands is Tottenham, since Conte has them by the balls and they’re overpaying for everyone, from Romero to Bentancur to Kulusevski. Well maybe Newcastle, too.
Those are his options, otherwise I’m pretty sure the likes of PSG and Barcelona will never pay him those numbers. He will have to join them for close to what’s Milan offering him, like Dollarumma did.
Ace milan I totally agree. Call his bluff, pay him what he wants then sell him. He has done damage to his reputation with us milan fans. He changed his tune from “I’m returning from the Olympics and all will be sorted” and “Red and Black is my 2nd skin” to a deafening silence. I’ve lost a lot of respect for him personally.
If all fails that joke of a club Newcastle and there Human rights vialating owners are desperate enough to pay.
Violating *
@Dazziano, sure pay him what he wants, but what if he then refuses to move and “see out his contract” again? Nothing compels him to accept another club’s offer. It would have to be much higher than the 8m being paid by Milan. Is he that good that a club will give him say 12m? So then Milan would be stuck with this player whose wage violates the club’s own wage structure and who has left a sour taste in the mouths of the club and fans. Meanwhile, it will be difficult to justify not giving 8m wages to our other top players because there is Kessie. So no, don’t give him what he wants. The ultimate lesson is that if a player has 2 years left on their contract, extend or sell. Hard rule.
If AC give way to his 8-9 m demand so we cud cash in, it will be more difficult to sell him for a transfer fee and his exorbitant salary, compared to a bosman. And he could always say no to the xfer and enjoy his 8-9 m in his comfort zone. And ac is stuck with another multiyear contract and he could choose to run down his contract again.