Barcelona would 'only listen to offers of €80m' for Chelsea target

Stuart Telford

14 Apr 2023 08:29 CDT
3 min read

Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha in action for Barcelona in pre-season. — © ProShots

Barcelona are set for a fire sale this summer and Chelsea remain interested in their Brazilian winger Raphinha - but he won't come cheap with Barca unwilling to make a loss on their investment.

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Barca have been told by La Liga that they need to reduce their debt by €200 million if they want to compete next season in a competition they lead Real Madrid by 13 points in this.

President Joan Laporta is exploring further 'financial levers' he can activate in order to meet that target at the same time as luring Lionel Messi back to the club from Paris Saint-Germain, but clearly player sales are an effective shot in the arm.

READ: Chelsea still want Barcelona winger they missed out on last summer

It is understood that all but Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, Pedri and Gavi are for sale - although the latter could yet leave on a free this summer with Barca having been unable to register his new contract amid their financial dire straits.

Xavi: "Raphinha is a signing we wanted and he's playing well. He's making the difference with 9 assists and scoring. He's an extraordinary player. Even when there was criticism, I had no doubts that he would triumph and he's taking the team to the top." 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4gxDAt6FZS
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) February 19, 2023

Raphinha nearly joined Chelsea from Leeds last summer, meanwhile, but changed his mind once Barca made their interest clear, and completed a €58m move to Camp Nou in July, on wages of €6m a season after tax.

Barca won't take a loss

"Barca signed him to a five-year contract… the annual cost of Raphinha is about €23 million," report GOAL. "As of 1 July, he would have a four-year contract which still has €46m pending amortisation of the transfer.

READ: Barcelona could lose 'one of world's best' for FREE

"Hence, Barca are only studying a possible exit for the Brazilian if an offer exceeding €80m lands. With that money, they would obtain a capital gain for his transfer."

Raphinha is valued at €48.2m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, so the chances of Chelsea or any other Premier League team going up to €80m for him would appear to be slim.

Raphinha has contributed six goals and four assists from 26 La Liga games this season, having plundered 11 and three of each in England last term.