After a lot of speculation and chaos, the Catalans have finally managed to register their summer signing Memphis Depay for the LaLiga. Apart from the Dutchman, the board have also registered centre-back Eric Garcia and striker Ray Manaj.
According to the club’s statement, the Blarugrana were able to register the new additions only after vice-captain Gerard Pique agreed to take a massive wage cut. The club have struggled a lot in their attempt to balance the books this summer, something which saw their talisman Lionel Messi leave the club after 18 years to join PSG.
As such, Ronald Koeman will have almost all the players available to choose from in their season opener against Real Sociedad, which will take place on August 15.
Barcelona till now have offloaded Junior Firpo, Jean Clair Todibo and Francisco Trincao, whereas Messi has left the club as a free agent. But Catalans need to offload more players as they still have to make space for Sergio Aguero, as the former Manchester City forward is still unregistered.
Therefore the management needs to offload some players and also ask some seniors to take wage cuts. Reports claim that Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have been approached, and both the players may have to take substantial wage cuts to accommodate all players.
However, all these issues should not distract Koeman as he will be aiming to win the La Liga title this season after missing out on his first year at Camp Nou. The Dutch tactician led the Catalans to the Copa Del Rey title last season but he will look to improve on that this time around.
