Koeman leads a rebellion against Bartomeu as two transfer targets opt out

Barcelona may miss out on two transfer targets due to Bartomeu

The friendly fixture against Gimnastic was Ronald Koeman’s first game in charge since being appointed as the manager of Barcelona following the sacking of Quique Setien. Although the game ended 3-1 in favour of the Catalans, Koeman still continues to deal with several issues and one of them includes the presence of Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Since Koeman’s appointment, the rumours in the media have been that the Dutch manager wants Gini Wijnaldum of Liverpool and Memphis Depay of Lyon. However, it has now been reported by Diaro GOL that Gini Wijnaldum has reconsidered the option of signing for the Catalans.

Why has Gini Wijnaldum reconsidered signing for Barca?

The Premier League midfielder is on the last year of his contract at Anfield and his opted to see out his contract instead of signing for Barca this season due to Josep Maria Bartomeu. Wijnaldum and his agent are against the idea of moving to the Camp Nou this season as Bartomeu still remains the president.

The elections are due for the summer of 2021 and coincidently  Wijnaldum’s contract expires next summer as well. Gini Wijnaldum prefers to sign for Barca under a new board which would probably see either Victor Font or Joan Laporta as the president of the club.

This is another setback for Ronald Koeman who has eager on working with his compatriot at Camp Nou. However, Koeman’s misery just does not end there.

The situation with Luis Suarez continues to grow into a complicated scenario as the player he demanded for his entire season’s salary if the club is to terminate his contract. The amount is 14 million euros, a figure that Barca is not willing to shell out currently after incurring heavy losses during the pandemic.