Barcelona have reportedly decided to withdraw their interest in AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, who will be a free agent in the summer.
According to SPORT, Barcelona have called off their pursuit of AC Milan and Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie even though the 25-year-old will be out of contract at the end of the season.
Kessie has been with Milan since 2017, when he was signed on loan from Atalanta. The midfielder impressed heavily in his first two seasons at San Siro, prompting the Rossoneri to sign him up permanently. The move has worked a treat for the club as the Ivorian has grown into one of the best-performing players in his position in the Serie A.
However, Kessie’s time with Milan may soon be ending. The 25-year-old has just four months left on his contract with the Serie A bigwigs and is already believed to have rejected a new contract proposal worth €5 million per year.
The midfielder’s potential free agency has put several top clubs across Europe on high alert. Barcelona were among the teams to have been credited with a strong interest in the Ivory Coast international. It had even been claimed that the Blaugrana had reached a verbal agreement with Kessie over a free transfer come the end of the season.
However, as per the report from SPORT, that is far from the case. The Catalan heavyweights have instead decided to withdraw their interest in Kessie.
As things stand, Barcelona already have a plethora of options in midfield in the form of Gavi, Pedri, Nico Gonzalez, Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Riqui Puig. In addition to that, there is also B team prospect Alvaro Sanz, who has played some minutes with the first team this season.
Signing a new midfielder is not a pressing concern at the moment for the Blaugrana. So if they went after Kessie, it would only be for a backup role and not as a key starter. The Catalans are also unwilling to meet his high wage demands when they are going through a financially testing time, particularly if he is only used as a squad player.
As a result, Barcelona have decided to end their interest in Kessie. However, the midfielder has no shortage of suitors, with clubs in the Premier League keen. Milan’s league rivals Juventus are also believed to be monitoring his situation.
