Barcelona are reportedly a step closer to signing Milan midfielder Franck Kessie on a free transfer.
The 25-year-old Ivorian’s contract expires with the Rossoneri at the end of this season and he will not renew his deal after demanding more than the club were willing to offer. Paolo Maldini is not afraid of letting players leave on a free transfer, as seen with Gianluigi Donnarumma’s departure last summer.
As reported by Sport, Barcelona have been in talks with Kessie’s entourage for a while and they’ve recently narrowed the gap between the player’s demands and their offer, wanting to try and speed up negotiations a little.
The Blaugrana are wary of the large amount of interest in the Ivorian midfielder and so they’re reportedly hoping to tie things up soon. This report directly contradicts one that came from Spain last month, which said that the Catalan side had decided to pull out of the race for the player.
Kessie has made 26 appearances across all competitions so far this season, for a total of 1829 minutes. In that time, he’s scored six goals and provided one assist.
#FCB 🔵🔴
💥 El Barça tiene prácticamente cerrada la llegada a coste cero del centrocampista del Milan
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— Diario SPORT (@sport) February 28, 2022
I really hope he does go to Barca and not Inter or Juve.
No Italian club will pay him the wage he is asking.
I don’t think it’s about money. It’s prestige and trophies he really wants. the money, like with Donnarumma is just an excuse to get out of Milan, which is so obviously far from any significant, ie Champion’s league, trophy. Their ownership is obviously not so interested in trophies – they’re more interested in saving money. Trophies fine, if they come at a good price.
…This is a mistake. For example Rather than spending money on a single dynamic player like Kulusevski or Berardi for the right wing. They’d rather spend the same money on 3 lukewarm players. like Alexis Saelemaekers, Junior Messias and Samu Castillejo
He’s not suited to that style of play. He will sit on the bench more than play in Barcelona, I’m pretty sure, but he probably won’t care, he’s looking for that fat paycheck.
no, he’s not after prestige or trophy.. he simply wants more money.. if he wants the prestige of Barca or PSG then he only needs to say he wants to quit after the contract is over.. why would you ruin your personal image with an excuse of not enough salary if you want to join other club? so yeah, he is simply after the money