Why Barcelona have still not announced Kessie and Christensen

Robin Bairner

30 May 2022 17:09 BST
3 min read

Franck Kessie, Milan, 2021/22 — © ProShots

Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen will both complete transfers to Barcelona this summer, though the Spanish club have yet to make the deals official.

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It is an open secret, however, that these players will be their first signings for the 2022/23 season.

Indeed, president Joan Laporta admitted back in March that deals were concluded for two players, although he did not mention them by name.

Why, then, are fans still waiting on an announcement confirming the deals in an official capacity now that the season is over?

The reason is a straightforward one, according to Sport. It is simply because there is no margin in the club’s wage budget to register them.

Barcelona's budget problems

This has been a problem that has plagued Barcelona for a year now. It is the reason that Lionel Messi was unable to sign a new deal with the club last season and also prompted the club to have key players reduce their salary levels in order to have free agents Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia available for the opening game of 2021/22 when it seemed both might miss out.

Reducing the wage budget requires Barcelona to offload players.

Some reports have suggested that Barca could be ready to ask players to slash their wages further, but a likelier scenario is that certain big earners could be sold or be released. Frenkie de Jong is one such star who could go, with the midfielder linked to Manchester United.

Furthermore, discussions with Ousmane Dembele appear to be at a standstill because of the large wage demands of the winger. His contract will expire on 30 June, at which point he will be released and should free up significant funds that can be channelled into the squad for the coming season.

Barcelona could also choose to rescind the contracts of certain fringe players, effectively allowing them to find new clubs on free transfers.

Kessie and Christensen are still moving to Barcelona – it is just a question of when.