August 14, (THEWILL) – On Saturday, Barcelona confirmed that they have finally been able to register Dutch forward Memphis Depay, Spanish defender Eric Garcia and Albanian striker Rey Manaj for the new 2021/2022 campaign that begins for them on Sunday, August 15, against Real Sociedad.
The good news was tempered by the announcement that they still are unable to add former Manchester City Argentine striker Sergio Aguero to the Ronald Koeman squad for the season as they do their utmost to navigate the hurdles placed on them by La Liga restrictions.
Financial problems at Camp Nou have limited the club’s options for the season as they had not been able to add a number of their summer signings to their official list of players. It was also behind La Blaugrana’s loss of Lionel Messi to Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain after salary cap rules collapsed their attempts to re-sign the superstar.
The consolation of being able to bring in Depay and Manaj, who have shown good form in front of goal in their pre-season games and Garcia too, is a huge positive for Koeman. Their statement making this public confirmed that Gerard Pique agreed to a massive salary reduction to make it possible for the trio to be registered.
The statement added: “In this way Ronald Koeman will be able to count on all the players available for this Sunday’s match with Real Sociedad for the first day of the competition.”
Aguero’s case is still hanging. As THEWILL reported, the forward will be out injured until mid-October after a training ground knock on Sunday in the latest of his recent injuries worries. If like Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba can agree to reduced salaries, the pay cap will allow them add Aguero as well.
With the team nearly complete now, Koeman knows what he needs to change to bring their focus back to the challenge of winning trophies once again in the post-Messi era of the Catalan club.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
