Chelsea to BLOCK Aubameyang's Barcelona return

Stuart Telford

• 31 Mar 2023 20:13 BST
• 3 min read

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona has felt like a transfer waiting to happen in recent months, but Chelsea are reportedly unwilling to do business with the Blaugrana after the player's recent behaviour.

Aubameyang joined Chelsea from Barca for €12 million last September, but less than a week later his former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel - who had been key to his acquisition - was sacked and replaced by Graham Potter.

Aubameyang has endured a torrid time since, starting just four Premier League games while he wasn't even registered for the club's Champions League knock-out stage squad.

READ: Graham Potter can't wait to get rid of unprofessional Aubameyang

Rumours of a Barcelona return intensified two weeks ago after Aubameyang was pictured celebrating their Clasico victory over Real Madrid at Camp Nou, with Ferran Torres posting evidence of the forward's presence on social media.

But the player's behaviour has angered Chelsea, and dented Barca's hopes of re-signing the striker who scored 11 goals in 17 La Liga games for them last season.

Aubameyang 'infuriated' Chelsea

"Aubameyang joining in these celebrations reportedly infuriated Chelsea, who are now determined not to sell the player back to Barcelona as a result," write the Daily Mail.

READ: Forget Aubameyang! Barcelona legend recommends two Lewandowski alternatives

Chelsea were repeatedly frustrated by Barcelona last summer.

They lost Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso on free transfers to the Catalan giants, while they got as far as discussing terms with Jules Kounde and Raphinha before they plumped for Camp Nour instead.

But there is also discord ahead of any Aubameyang transfer to Barcelona: Chelsea need to balance their books to satisfy Financial Fair Play regulations, but Barca are unable, if not unwilling, to pay a fee for the player having been told by La Liga to reduce their debt by €200m.

Aubameyang on a free would nonetheless get a significant salary off of their books, but Chelsea would also generate a transfer income if they sold Aubameyang to interested parties in the MLS or the Middle East.