FC Barcelona are reportedly ready to sell Pedri for above €120 million if the midfielder’s lot … [+]
FC Barcelona are ready to consider selling star midfielder Pedri for above €120 million ($128 million) if he doesn’t become more reliable, according to El Nacional.
The Spain international is once more sidelined after picking up a quadriceps injury in training as August drew to a close.
The club didn’t give a timeframe for his return when officially confirming the development, but COPE reported that Pedri should be out for at least five to six weeks.
At the turn of this one, a report from SPORT explained how Barca are planning for Pedri to lace up his boots once more on October 22 when the Catalans host Athletic Club at the Montjuic Stadium.
All being well, the 20-year-old should then be fit enough to start what is the biggest game of the season so far six days on, as Real Madrid head to the same ground for a potentially title-deciding edition of El Clasico.
Compared to last season, when a knock Pedri picked up against Manchester United in the Europa League saw Barca suffer in his absence and get turfed out of the Copa del Rey semi-finals by Madrid, Xavi Hernandez’s men have done just fine without the Canary Islands this time round.
This might be because of the arrival of Ilkay Gundogan – who was brought in on a free transfer in the summer to partner Pedri in attacking midfield but also provide cover for him if and when he became injured – yet also the growing maturity of Gavi and strong performances of Oriol Romeu and Frenkie de Jong in the center of the park.
El Nacional explains that how well Barca perform over the next month or so without Pedri will give a clearer picture on whether they can afford to dispense with him from a sporting perspective.
They could definitely do with offloading him from a financial point of view, and might be willing to listen to offers of over €120 million ($128 million) from parties that have previously registered interest which includes Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, the two Manchester outfits, and Liverpool.
At the same time, however, the club is reportedly working on finding a way to make Pedri’s injuries stop.
In their formative years, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta also regularly suffered knocks but managed to leave them behind with the right diet, physical preparation and knowledge of their own bodies which paved the way for them to become Blaugrana legends.
Should the situation continue in this manner, though, Pedri could follow Ansu Fati in leaving an institution that tipped him to be its future across the next decade with a €1 billion ($1.07 billion) release clause tied to his most recently-penned fresh contract.
