Official: Franck Kessie completes Barcelona transfer
Robin Bairner
- 4 Jul 2022 12:50 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona have confirmed the signing of free agent Franck Kessie on a four-year contract following the midfielder's departure from Milan.
The move comes as little surprise, with a contract agreed between the parties for several months. However, the deal will only be signed on Wednesday, when the Ivory Coast star will also be presented in front of the media as a Barcelona player for the first time.
He has a buyout clause of €500 million in his Barcelona deal, which will expire in 2026.
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Kessie is Barca's first major arrival of the summer transfer window, but it is expected that Andreas Christensen will rapidly follow on a similar deal, having left Chelsea at the end of his Stamford Bridge contract.
He is considered to be an all-action midfielder, as capable of impressing defensively as he is of catching the eye with his attacking contributions.
Why the announcement was delayed
Barcelona started their pre-season training on 4 July, at which point they had hoped both players may be able to join the squad.
The delay in announcing the contracts for the players, however, appears to have been brought about by the club's testing financial circumstances. Barca are mired in debt and need to reduce their wage bill before new players can be registered with La Liga.
The club was in a similar position at this point last year, when there was doubt until the last moment whether their new signings Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia could play in their opening league match of the season (Sergio Aguero was injured at that point).
Franck Kessie is ...
The Total Midfielder. pic.twitter.com/JRVOQd3TUv— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 4, 2022
Cause for optimism at last at Barca?
With Kessie on board, it suggests that the club are confident of offloading some of their deadwood.
Mundo Deportivo reports, for example, that Samuel Umtiti has been given the right to terminate his contract and leave for Ligue 1 side Rennes on a free transfer.
Meanwhile, a deal that might take Frenkie de Jong to Manchester United appears to be tiptoeing towards a conclusion, although the news that the Red Devils are set to acquire Christian Eriksen might put that under some doubt.
Nevertheless, Kessie's arrival shows that Barcelona are finally making progress in the transfer market, with optimism blooming that Raphinha might also join the Camp Nou ranks in the coming weeks.
