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Roberto Fimino: Liverpool star offers himself to Barcelona
Barcelona are shopping in the market for free agents given their financial crisis, but they have been given a boost in this regards with the news that Liverpool forward Roberto Fimino is eager to join up at Camp Nou, according to reports.
Firmino will leave Anfield after eight years in the summer, when his contract expires, but where his next destination will be is not clear.
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He is presently able to negotiate with foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement, with rumours suggesting that he could join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.
However, OneFootball reports that Firmino is likelier to make a move to Barcelona next summer and, indeed, has already offered himself to the Camp Nou club.
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Firmino to Barca: Is a deal likely?
Making low-cost signings has been something of a speciality for Barcelona in recent years, with Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen arriving from Milan and Chelsea respectively last summer.
Nevertheless, they have still been told that they must make €200 million worth of cuts or sales before they are able to register new signings next summer, which will make the process a complicated one.
At present, it is difficult to see where Firmino might fit in. Robert Lewandowski is Barcelona’s untouchable centre-forward, and unless the Brazil international was prepared to take a significant cut in wages, it will be difficult for Barca to make room for him.
However, this could also depend on which players they offload. Ansu Fati is one star who could be on his way in the summer, and if he or Ferran Torres were to leave, head coach Xavi may feel that he is light in the No.9 area.
Given the scale of the cutbacks that Barca are likely to need to make, both players could legitimately move on, while the doubts over Frenkie de Jong’s future in midfield are very real purely because of the money the Catalans could raise if he were to move to Manchester United, for example.