La Liga heavyweights Barcelona reportedly have no interest in shelling out €60 million to sign Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Spain’s early ouster from the 2022 FIFA World Cup will speed up the process for Barcelona to clarify Sergio Busquets’s future. But the Catalan giants are unwilling to pay €60 million for Martin Zubimendi, the top target to succeed Busquets.
Martin Zubimendi has come leaps and bounds since making his first-team debut for Real Sociedad in April 2019. The Spanish midfielder was not a prodigy by any means and rose in prominence through graft and hard work. And he is now a pivotal figure for the Basque outfit.
The 23-year-old has turned out 114 times for La Real, chipping in with four goals and four assists. At the same time, Zubimendi has broken into the Spanish national team. And his progress has captured the attention of several high-profile clubs, including Barcelona.
Barcelona will prioritise resolving the futures of the remaining veterans in the first-team squad next year after Gerard Pique’s retirement. That includes Sergio Busquets, with the Spanish midfielder in the twilight of his glittering career. And it is unclear if the 34-year-old will remain at Spotify Camp Nou beyond the ongoing season.
So Barcelona will need to be ready for Busquets’s potential departure next summer. And they have identified Martin Zubimendi as a possible successor to the veteran midfielder. But the 23-year-old has a release clause worth €60 million in his contract with Real Sociedad, which poses a problem for Barcelona.
The report claims that Barcelona will not be ready to shell out €60 million to sign the Spanish midfielder. That stance is hardly surprising, considering the Catalan outfit’s financial woes. But that also means that other suitors like Manchester United might usurp Barcelona in the race to sign Zubimendi.
Recent reports have also claimed that Zubimendi is not overly ecstatic about the prospect of joining Barcelona. So the Blaugrana might not have succeeded even if they were willing to pay €60 million for the Spanish midfielder. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if Busquets remains at Camp Nou beyond this season.
