Canniness in the market has been one of this Barcelona’s prevalent features. On the lookout for free and low-cost deals since the turn of the year, the Blaugrana have reportedly done it again, signing Franck Kessie (AC Milan) and Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax) for nothing.
The club is reportedly working to secure a number of free transfers, including Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen, who was a step away from joining the club next summer for no fee. However, the Dane isn’t the only player closing in on a transfer to Barcelona, with Kessie and Mazraoui both set to join the Catalan club for free.
As per Diario Sport, Barcelona have found an agreement with Kessie’s representatives, and the player will leave the Serie A club on June 30 to officially complete a free transfer to Spain. Negotiations between the Ivorian and the Rossoneri broke down when the club believed the player’s salary demands to be too high, and Barca wasted no time in swooping in to secure the player for the future.
Fabrizio Romano reports that the midfielder will earn a net salary of 6.5 million euros per season at Camp Nou.
Barcelona are also set to beat Bayern Munich to the free signing of Mazraoui, Sport claimed on Monday, March 14. The Blaugrana rushed ahead of a queue of clubs, including AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Leeds United, and Arsenal, to secure the 24-year-old’s signature; the club will pay him a net salary of 5 million euros a year to play for them.
It remains to be seen how the Morocco international deal affects Barcelona’s proposed move for Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta – a constant link to the club in recent months whose contract also expires in June 2022.
Presently in a steady climb up the table, Barcelona’s fortunes have turned around since the arrival of Xavi Hernandez and a plethora of new signings in January. The club recently beat Osasuna 4-0 in La Liga and is now challenging for second place in the league table.
