Earlier today, shocking reports emerged claiming that Barcelona had expressed an interest in signing Kylian Mbappe from PSG and that they were set to hold a meeting with the Ligue 1 champions to discuss the operation.
Given the club’s financial situation, there is no way that the La Liga champions can offer a big transfer fee to sign the French superstar, who is also a key target for arch-rivals Real Madrid. As such, it has been suggested that the Blaugrana would offer players in exchange.
Now, building on that, La Vanguardia is claiming that Barcelona have already made contact with PSG to try and explore the possibility of a move for Mbappe in the ongoing transfer window.
It is stated that PSG have grown fed up of Real Madrid and want to do business with Barcelona instead.
Furthermore, the report bizarrely states that the Catalan giants will be offering Ousmane Dembele and Gavi to PSG as part of the operation to bring in Mbappe.
PSG have been linked with Dembele in the recent past, as a possible replacement for Mbappe himself. However, Barcelona have shown no desire to let go of the 26-year-old winger.
Instead, the club are working on renewing his contract until 2027, with the player also intent on signing a new deal and prolonging his stay at the club, having enjoyed a turnaround of fortunes under Xavi.
As for Gavi, he is also a vital component of Xavi’s plans at Barça. Despite being only 18 years of age, he was the player with the third-highest number of minutes for the team last season, only behind Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Robert Lewandowski.
The Spaniard is a favourite of new PSG manager Luis Enrique and as such they could be interested in him. However, there is no way Barça would be open to letting him leave after having gone into legal battles with La Liga over the registration of his new contract.
So, the report of Dembele and Gavi being offered to Les Parisiens as part of an operation to bring in Mbappe must be taken with a grain of salt.
Other media outlets have put forward the names of Jules Kounde and Frenkie de Jong as some of the other Barça players that PSG might be interested in. But they are also seen as ‘untouchables’ in Xavi’s plans.
Even if Barcelona do manage to work out some sort of arrangement to bring him in, the 24-year-old’s wages would be impossible to fit into the club’s salary mass, given as he currently earns a whopping €72 million per year.