Barcelona’s move to Serie A complicated due to financial reasons

Memphis Depay had a mixed World Cup campaign in Qatar. The 28-year-old scored in the team’s 3-1 win over the USMNT in the Round of 16, thus surpassing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as the Netherlands’ second highest international goalscorer of all time, only behind Robin Van Persie.

Yet, he struggled to step up on the big nights and dropped a very poor display in his team’s final game against Argentina.

Returning to club football after the long hiatus, Depay has big decisions to take over his future. It is clear that Xavi Hernandez does not fancy the forward much and a departure would favour all parties involved. However, the situation is not so simple.

AS Roma were said to be well placed to sign Depay, with talks between the player and club already in place. Luis Rojo, however, reports that the Dutchman’s move to Italy is complicated.

Roma cannot meet the financial demands of the former Olympique Lyon captain and are thus considering withdrawing from the race. This puts Barcelona in a fix for Depay only wants to leave for a top team that plays in the UEFA Champions League, and Roma was one of the only interested parties that met both criteria.

One potential solution would be for Barcelona to cover a part of Depay’s wages for next season and push for his departure, but that defeats the original purpose of facilitating his departure.

The Dutch forward has only played part in two La Liga appearances for Barcelona this season, scoring one goal in the process. Further, he only played 15 minutes in the UEFA Champions League and is clearly under pressure to leave.