Money’s in, and Barcelona are making a massive statement in the current transfer window! The fallen giant is back where it belongs after the dreadful reign of Josep Maria Bartomeu and his associates.After months of financial instability and uncertainty, Blaugrana sold part of the TV rights for the next 25 years, earning 207,500,000 euros. And now it’s time for a big shopping spree! According to Marca, they intend to spend around 200,000,000 euros on reinforcements next couple of months.Chairman Joan Laporta addressed the media tonight, and it seems that he “whispered” something additional to a group of his trustworthy journalists. Minutes before Laporta’s public appearance, Catalan sports dailies broke the news that Ousmane Dembele is on the verge of signing a new contract with Barcelona.From all-Dutch to no-Dutch in a single week: Xavi shows Depay Barca’s exit doorsAlthough it seemed like an impossible mission for the French winger to stay at Camp Nou, something has dramatically changed. Local newspaper Sport writes that Dembele’s stay is closer than ever. Now, it is all about small financial details. Let’s recall that Barca offered him a 40 per cent pay cut and made it clear to his agent that they won’t pay him any extra bonuses. It seems, however, that Dembele himself has taken his career into his own hands and realized that it would be best for him to stay with Barcelona.Barca’s ultimatum to Dembele – this time, not even his guardian angel Xavi could save himMeanwhile, the club is trying to resolve the situation as soon as possible so that the player is available to coach Xavi, who deserves most of the credit for the fact Dembele is still there. On Monday, it was Xavi who organized a meeting between the two parties (when no agreement was reached, to be fair), but everything started going forward from there.Former Barca centre-back gets under arrest for going mad after being sent offXavi needs Dembele in the team, and Laporta is also aware that he cannot find a better option on the market at the moment because all the others are more expensive. A contract extension and a slightly better financial offer are still more worthwhile for the player than buying a new one. And Dembele is in a hurry because he wants to go into the season strong and start training from the first day to shine in full glory finally.”Dembele is a person we respect very much. He played at a high level in the second part of the season, and the coach is very happy with him. His status is more a matter of finances. He didn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to us, but we are in constant communication. If he accepts our terms, he will stay. If he doesn’t accept, he won’t. We have not set any deadlines.”Now that we have received the first financial injection, we are much more relaxed,” said Laporta.##EDITORS_CHOICE##And an even bigger shock was caused by his statement about the staying of Frenkie de Jong, whose move to Manchester United seemed like a done deal.”Frenkie is a Barcelona player and one of the best in the world. We know that many other clubs besides United want him. We have no intention of selling him, and it seems to me that he has no desire to go either. He is happy at Barca, and I will do everything in my power to keep it that way. It is certain that we will enter into some discussions about the salaries of players that are above the limit set by the management,” Laporta said, which was a message to De Jong that he would have to take a pay cut if he wishes to stay.The last option for Lewandowski: a holdoutAs much is said and written about De Jong’s departure, the same is with the arrival of Robert Lewandowski.”Lewandowski is a Bayern player. We all know what kind of player he is, but I will have to be cautious because he is a player of another club. We know that he has said publicly that he wants to go to Barcelona, and we are honoured by that. But we also have to have respect for Bayern, which is one of the biggest clubs in the world”.Moneytalks, but it’s the heart that makes the final decision: Raphinha chooses Barca in a thrilling turnaroundLaporta also confirmed that they are working on bringing the Brazilian winger Raphinha from Leeds.”We contacted Leeds about Rafinha because we know he wants to come to us. But other clubs are also in the race. The stay of Dembele does not exclude the arrival of Raphinha because the coach sees them as compatible”.##NAJAVA_MECA_6483746##In the end, Laporta announced that the newest Barca signings will be presented in the upcoming days – Franck Kessie will be introduced on Tuesday and Andreas Christensen on Wednesday.Barca are on the roll!
