Barcelona to be presented with €17m offer for midfielder who feels ‘hurt’ by the club

With just a week left for the transfer window to slam shut, the future of Barcelona starlet Ilaix Moriba is likely to be resolved one way or the other.

The 18-year-old burst onto the scenes earlier this year and went on to feature regularly over the course of the second half of the season, bagging a goal and three assists in 18 games. However, things have gone sour between the teenager and the club over the past weeks due to his contract situation.

Moriba has entered the final year of his deal with Barcelona and has rejected multiple offers made by the Catalans as he holds out for higher wages. The Catalans, who are going through financial turmoil, are not prepared to entertain the midfielder’s demands and, as a result, have exiled him from the first team, making him train with the youth players.

Moriba ‘hurt’ and ‘disrespected’ by treatment

There have been reports coming out across various outlets that have seemingly painted a negative picture of Moriba for asking for bigger wages, especially at a time when the club are having to go through problems off the field.

Now, Mundo Deportivo is claiming that Moriba has grown resentful towards Barca over how the entire contract situation has been handled. The 18-year-old is unhappy and hurt over how his perception amongst the fanbase has changed due to the whole episode while relegating him to train with the Juvenil team has also irked him.

Moriba’s camp continues to insist that the matter is not about the money and that the midfielder wants to stay at Barcelona, while claiming that they have, to date, received only one proposal from the club, which contradicts what has been said by the Blaugrana.

A move to Chelsea on the cards?

Nonetheless, with the transfer deadline day approaching, a resolution, one way or the other, could be in sight. Barcelona are holding out for at least €20 million for the 18-year-old amidst interest from the likes of RB Leipzig, Chelsea and Manchester City.

However, journalist Adrian Sanchez reports that Moriba’s camp will be presenting the Catalans with an offer of €17 million from Chelsea in the coming days and hope that a deal can be struck. RB Leipzig, meanwhile, continue to wait on the departure of Marcel Sabitzer before making a move for the 18-year-old, even though talks have be in en held between the clubs.

It remains to be seen whether Barcelona find Chelsea’s offer acceptable or maintain their stance on their €20 million valuation. A failure to come to an agreement could mean Moriba remains at the club for another year before leaving for free next summer.