Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly considering a swoop for Spanish wunderkind Gavi amid ineffective contract renewal talks with Barcelona – per report.
Teenage sensation, Gavi, 17, is rumoured to have ‘rejected’ Barcelona’s first contract offer. After months of unproductive negotiations with Gavi’s agent, Barcelona had made their first renewal offer to the La Masia graduate offering him a salary of just €2 million per season, which is double what he’s earning now, rumoured to be around €1 million euros per season.
According to a report, Gavi has ‘turned down’ the offer as his demands far exceed and don’t come close to what Barca has offered him. A regular presence in the team, the midfielder wants to quadruple his salary demanding Barcelona to pay €4 million in his first year at the club after contract renewal, the figure which would increase to €5 million in his second and €6 million in the third year – a demand which Barca in their current ‘dilapidated’ financial situation looks far from fulfilling.
The attacking midfielder is tipped to be one of the emerging sensations in the world after having a stupendous season with Barcelona, even getting call-ups with Spain at just a tender age of seventeen. No doubt, there will be no shortage of competitors for the starlet as a number of teams want to strengthen their midfield ranging from Manchester United, and Liverpool to Paris-Saint-Germain.
Debt-stricken Barca currently needs €450million to have the ability to register new players for the next season failure of which will further push them towards bankruptcy will look to offload some of their players including Gavi if he continues to uphold his demands.
Pep Guardiola was unhesitant when speaking at a recent celebrity golf tournament where he expressed his fondness for the hometown player, he said:
"“He is fantastic, just like Ansu Fati or Pedri.“It shows that there is a lot of future and very good work in the youth system there.”"
Barcelona president Joan Laporte is frantic to put pen to paper on a contract renewal with Gavi to secure the future of the club while CEO Ferran Soriano and Tixiki Begiristain continue to ‘closely monitor the situation ‘ as per The Mirror.
However, Gavi has been ‘firm’ on staying at Barcelona for years to come and wants to develop under manager Xavi Hernandez – he will provide the necessary time to the club for sorting out the wage details instead of forcing a move away from the Catalan giants.
It remains to be seen what happens with the star teenager as his demands are well above Barcelona’s financial capability, while Manchester City continues to monitor the situation. The final decision is expected soon as his current contract runs out next year and if the talks become unfavourable for Barca, they will look to cash in the player in this window.