How much will Franck Kessie earn at Barcelona?
Martin Macdonald
- 17 Mar 2022 14:01 GMT
- 3 min read
Milan midfielder Franck Kessie is on the cusp of a move to Spanish giants Barcelona on a free transfer.
Kessie has emerged as one of the most sought-after central midfielders in all of Europe over the past year.
Virtually every elite club in Europe has been keeping an eye on the Milan central midfielder, whose contract expires at the end of the 2021-22 season.
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The Ivorian’s future at San Siro is apparently decided and the club has virtually given up hope of him staying past this current season.
Milan offered him a contract renewal worth €5 million per season but Kessie has demanded €9m in order to stay.
According to Corriere della Sera, the player has lowered those demands and has agreed a contract worth €6.5m per season to sign for Barcelona.
The reason that the Blaugrana have been able to move to the head of the queue for his signature is that they have sweetened the deal with a €10m payment set to go to Kessie's agent George Atangana.
Barcelona head coach Xavi also personally contacted Kessie and outlined his plans for the club, which also played a part in the player's decision.
What teams were interested in Kessie?
Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham are all admirers from the Premier League, as are PSG, Real Madrid and of course Barca.
Tottenham had made Kessie a primary target in January but failed to do a deal, much to the anger of manager Antonio Conte.
And now, according to Sport, Barcelona are closing in on signing Kessie on a Bosman Transfer this summer.
Last summer, Barca signed a host of players on a Bosman, including Eric Garcia, Memphis Depay and the now-retired Sergio Aguero.
Barca splashed big in the January market so will have to be more careful with their money this summer.
Xavi is keen to add some muscle to what is an incredibly gifted, yet lightweight, central midfield.
Kessie signed for Milan from Atalanta in 2017 and enjoyed the best season of his career in 2020-21, scoring 14 goals in all competitions from central midfield to take the Rossoneri back into the Champions League for the first time in seven years.
This season, his form has dipped but he remains a much-admired player
