The king deal
By far the top of the to-do list is the goal of persuading Lionel Messi (33) to extend his contract. The six-time world footballer could otherwise go free in the summer. How Joan Laporta will manage to continue to pay Messi’s exorbitant salary, however, is in the stars. Blaugrana is burdened with 1.2 billion euros in debt.
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The wish list
Despite the financial difficulties, top-class newcomers are expected to come to Camp Nou in the summer. Apart from that, Barça have free transfer stars. David Alaba (28) from FC Bayern, Eric García (20) from Manchester City and Memphis Depay (27) from Olympique Lyon are on the wish list. Everything is already clear with García, Depay was about to move to Barcelona in the winter. Only at Alaba do the Catalans face tough competition.
The solution
The expenditure on salaries is limited in Spain depending on the turnover. New budget is only released when current top earners leave the association. So it is quite possible that Philippe Coutinho (28), Miralem Pjanic (30) or Antoine Griezmann (29), who are far behind expectations, will be put in the shop window.
The ideal eleven for the 2021/22 season
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