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8 months ago
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Despite not being as competitive as they were a few years ago — due to financial complications, Barcelona still boast of a team filled to the brim with superstars and world class talents.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen was among the very best in his position last season, while Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, and Alejandro Balde formed a record-breaking defensive line.
Lamine Yamal in attack, and of course, a midfield of Pedri, Gavi, Ilkay Gundogan, and a certain Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman is, of course, one of the best midfielders in the world, but could soon call time on his stint at Barcelona.
De Jong believes he has severely underachieved since joining Barcelona, and needs to move elsewhere if he wants to compete with the very best in Europe and go far in the Champions League.
As such, a number of teams have popped up for de Jong as his next possible destination. Any team that wants his signature, though, know that they will need to shell out nearly €100 million or more.
And one of the only teams who can afford that and are willing to spend as much are Chelsea, as per a report from SPORT.
While not short of money by any margin, the Blues are under heavy scrutiny from the FFP after their £1 billion expenditure under the new ownership of Todd Boehly.
They do have an abundance of talented players they can offload to conjure up the required money to sign de Jong, though.
The likes of Armando Broja, Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher, and a few others, are all linked with an exit, and could be sold for a combined €100 million, at least.
It must be remembered that Frenkie de Jong refused to move to Manchester United two seasons ago when the Red Devils had offered over €80 million for his services.
And while the Dutchman has become a much more important player since then, his departure could single-handedly solve Barcelona’s financial issues, while also funding their pursuit of a defensive midfielder.
