Barcelona cannot afford to pay €25 million for Premier League forward

FC Barcelona are currently embroiled in a tense transfer chase for Robert Lewandowski. They are looking to prepare an opening offer for the Bayern Munich forward, who has emerged as the top target for the club.

But in light of their pursuit of Lewandowski, they are slowly falling behind in the race to sign other targes.

Diario SPORT has recently dropped a report, revealing the club’s pursuit of Raphinha. The Brazilian winger has been linked with a move to Camp Nou for quite some time now, due to his trickery and pace that could improve Barça’s approach play.

With Leeds United running the risk of getting relegated in the final week of the season, one would expect Barcelona to not have any difficulties affording Raphinha, whose release clause value will drop to €25 million once Leeds are demoted to the second division.

However, the report states Barcelona are not in a position to afford Raphinha’s €25 million release clause. They are relying heavily on player sales as means of generating revenue.

The Catalans have recently sanctioned the €20 million sale of Philippe Coutinho to Aston Villa. The likes of Antoine Griezmann, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti are soon expected to join the list.

Recent reports suggest Barcelona are even willing to offload Sergino Dest at the end of the season while Frenkie de Jong has been linked with a move away from Camp Nou as well.

As far as Raphinha is concerned, the Brazilian has been targeted as the direct replacement for Ousmane Dembele. Barça are currently locked in negotiations with his agents over a renewal, but it appears the club are set to miss out on the player due to agent commissions.

Dembele’s exit could pave the way for Barcelona to go after Raphinha as they will not have to incur the Frenchman’s current wages. But the club might still hold out for a few more high profile exits before they can go after the Leeds United forward this summer.