Barcelona have good reason to speed up their departure operation this summer. Sporting director Deco is working to get more players out of the club in order to free up enough salary capacity for a potential signing of Nico Williams. Up to seven players will have to leave if the Blaugrana want to avoid having to sell one of their more valuable assets.
On that list we find Ansu Fati. It has long been clear that the 22-year-old’s future lies elsewhere than Camp Nou, as Hansi Flick has given him very few opportunities. Therefore, he will now seek new challenges elsewhere. It was reported that he was on the verge of a move to AS Monaco, but that deal now seems to have stalled.
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Fati has reportedly given the go-ahead for a transfer, and Monaco coach Adi Hütter is eager to work with the injury-plagued striker. But according to Sempre Barca, Hütter wants to get as many transfers done as possible before the pre-season, and he wants new players ready by June 28. According to their information, there are now doubts about whether the transfer to Monaco will happen.
The Catalan newspaper further claims that although agent Jorge Mendes has tried to get the deal in place, the parties are still “far from agreeing”. The transition is in real danger of collapsing. They also quote L’Équipe, who report that Monaco believe Hütter already has enough attacking power in the squad, which reduces the need to sign Fati.
Salary and contract terms create disagreement
The main reason why the negotiations have stalled is disagreement over the structure of the agreement. There are fundamentally different views on how much of Fati’s salary Barcelona should continue to pay, as he is one of the team’s highest-paid players. The other disagreement concerns whether the transfer should be a loan, whether a purchase option should be included, or whether it should be a direct sale with a buy-back clause for Barcelona.
Fati still has two years left on his contract, but his departure is considered necessary to free up space in Barcelona’s salary capacity. According to reports, the club has set a deadline for the end of June to get a deal in place.
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