To properly compete in the upcoming summer transfer window, Barcelona must first be willing to make sacrifices. La Blaugrana have some well-documented financial problems, but getting rid of them will be a tough task. The initial movements to make that happen have already been initiated by Barcelona, however.
In terms of the documentation and official paperwork, Barça has already sent those to La Liga. However, according to whatever the league then ends up stating, Barcelona will have to adjust accordingly. Most reports that have recently emerged have chosen to emphasize on the fact that key sales may still need to happen.
Only in the event that Barcelona can make those sales happen will the club be able to sign as per the 1:1 rule. According to AS, the one player who continues to be seen as the perfect sacrifice for this particular scenario is Raphinha. The Brazilian winger remains the choice of the club to generate the additional revenue they may need.
A lot of the development on this end has come about in recent weeks. Given the improvements made by the forward himself in terms of his contributions to the team in important games, his overall valuation has seen a surge. Moreover, while he already had a list of suitors in the English Premier League, that list has now grown in size as well.
However, Barcelona would ideally like to be quite precise in terms of how exactly the sale takes place. The biggest priority and concern would be the transfer fee, an amount that Barcelona believes should exceed the €70 million range at the very least, and hover around the €80 million mark as per this report and several others.
This season, the 27-year-old is already close to surpassing his numbers from last campaign despite still having 5 games left to play. He ended the previous 2022/2023 season with 10 goals and 12 assists, and he already has 9 goals and 12 assists this season at this point in time.
Yet, Raphinha is not the only asset Barcelona are reportedly considering to let go of. Ronald Araujo and Frenkie De Jong, two players with a great list of suitors and a high valuation, are also potential candidates to be sold in the summer. However, the final decision lies with Barcelona and the players themselves, and is something that will only unfold once the transfer window opens.
