Neto of FC Barcelona

Barcelona forced to play the long game over wantaway senior star

FC Barcelona, Barca v Gimnastic de Tarragona - Friendly Match Neto during the friendly match between FC Barcelona and Club Gimnastic de Tarragona, played at the Johan Cruyff Stadium on 21th July 2021, in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona Catalonia Spain urbanandsport-fcbarcel200721_npwzZ PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRA Copyright: xJoanxValls/Urbanandsportx

Barcelona face a difficult task when it comes to offloading wantaway goalkeeper Neto this summer.

The Blaugrana are keen to offload the high earners at the club who are not likely to feature this season amid their financial crisis which has left Lionel Messi and their four new signings unregistered.

And in the case of Neto, the player is also keen to move on from Camp Nou, desperate for regular football having played little part for Barca since his 2019 move from Valencia, stuck behind Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

One way or another, it’s hoped Neto will move on ahead of the end of the transfer window, but it’s going to prove difficult for Barcelona to find a buyer.

That’s because they need to bring in at least €13million due to the remaining amortisation charge on Neto’s contract, as cited by Mundo Deportivo.

Neto was signed for €26million and that cost was spread over the length of the goalkeeper’s contract, which still has two years remaining.

As such, Barca still have half of the fee still left to pay, meaning they will need to bring in at least that much for the 32-year-old to avoid having to pay out significant cash.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Arsenal and Villarreal are interested in a move for Neto this summer, but no move is close yet.

In Arsenal’s case, they prefer a move for a homegrown keeper, while Villarreal already have two strong goalkeepers in Geronimo Rulli and Sergio Asenjo, neither of which look likely to leave this summer.

Barca might need to be very patient with this one.

Tags Arsenal FC Barcelona Geronimo Rulli Neto Sergio Asenjo Villarreal
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