Five players Barcelona are desperate to sell

Martin Macdonald

• 18 Nov 2021 17:22 GMT
• 5 min read

Barcelona are in such financial difficulty at the moment that almost every player in the squad is up for sale.

The Blaugrana are in desperate need of reinforcements but new head coach Xavi does not have the funds at his disposal to land any expensive targets.

Prior to the dismissal for Ronald Koeman, it was reported that Barcelona would have €20 million to spend in the January transfer window.

However, that is now not the case as half of that was actually spent as compensation for sacking the Dutchman.

Xavi has €10m left, which is not enough to land reported targets like Raheem Sterling and Dani Olmo.

Barca will listen to offers for most of their players with the exception of the likes of Ansu Fati and Pedri.

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Below are five players they believe they can get decent fees for.

Philippe Coutinho

After Ousmane Dembele failed to immediately replace Neymar in his first six months at Barcelona, the Blaugrana threw money at the problem again by purchasing Philippe Coutinho for an outrageous initial fee of €121m plus bonuses.

The move has turned out to be a disaster for all parties as Coutinho has failed to make an impact on the team.

He returned to the club after he failed to earn a permanent move to Bayern after a loan deal.

Lionel Messi's departure arguably opened up an opportunity for Coutinho to finally impress, but he has not applied himself in the new campaign either.

He has reportedly fell out with his team-mates after displaying a poor attitude in training and in matches recently.

Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona aren't perhaps desperate to sell Dembele as Xavi is reportedly a fan of the player.

His current contract with the club runs out in the summer of 2022 and Barca are eager for a renewal to be agreed.

If it came to a decision between receiving a decent fee for Dembele and extending his contract, though, the club would likely accept the money. That is how dire their situation is.

Mundo Deportivo reports that, while avoiding losing Dembele for free is a major reason for the push to try and get the player to sign a new deal, Barcelona feel that the winger can still be an integral part of the squad and value his potential contributions on the pitch.

The Frenchman's time at Barca has mostly been overshadowed by constant injuries so far following his €105 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

A surprise name on the list is goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

He may not have been in top form over the last 18 months, but he remains one of the few players in the Barca squad who can be considered one of the best in the world in his position.

It is for that reason that Barcelona are open to offers as they believe they can receive a good fee, as at 29 he is in his prime between the sticks.

For at least a season, the club have been attempting to entice Bayern Munich to make a bid, as the German giants seek a long-term replacement for Manuel Neuer.

Newcastle have also allegedly made an approach for Ter Stegen following the injection of their Saudi cash.

However, the goalkeeper quickly rejected their advances.

Samuel Umtiti

Samuel Umtiti's Barcelona career has been ravaged by injuries over the past few seasons, meaning that Barcelona ultimately sought to replace him as a left-sided central defender with Sevilla’s Clement Lenglet.

He fell completely out of favour under Koeman and is currently behind Gerard Pique, Eric Garcia, Clement Lenglet, Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza for the centre-back spots.

Barcelona were so desperate to get rid of Umtiti in the summer of 2021 that they even offered to let him leave for free to get his wages off the balance sheet.

The Frenchman didn't accept this offer as it would mean finding another club where he would likely not receive such high wages.

Frenkie de Jong

Last year it would have been unthinkable that Barcelona would be willing to listen to offers for Frenkie de Jong.

However, the emergence of Pedri, Gavi and Nico in central midfield at Camp Nou means that the Dutchman's absence would not be as harshly felt if he were to leave.

De Jong remains highly rated at Barca, but the club feel that he is one of a few players in the squad who would command a high transfer fee due to his quality and age.

Barcelona will allegedly not push De Jong to go and will only consider an exorbitant fee to sell him, while the player himself is apparently happy in Barcelona. The desperation to let De Jong leave is not as apparent as the other players on our list.

Spanish outlet Sport reports that the former Ajax midfielder is not considering an exit for himself and is keen to help the club get back to an elite level, with him also being settled in the city from a personal standpoint.

Furthermore, Xavi is a fan of De Jong and wants him as a part of his new-look midfield going forward.

Any decision may be taken out of his hands, however, if Barcelona receive a healthy bid.