Bayern Munich pays €70 million to snatch Barcelona’s long-awaited signing

Barcelona has had a mixed summer so far. The Catalan club started strongly, signing Spanish goalkeeper Juan Garcia after paying his €25 million release clause to Espanyol.

But they suffered a major setback after their main candidate to reinforce the left wing, Neco Williams, decided to renew his contract with Athletic Bilbao, despite being strongly linked with a move to the Blaugrana.

Currently, Barcelona is focusing its attention on other targets in its ongoing quest to bolster its attack. As was the case at the beginning of the summer, Liverpool winger Luis Diaz is once again their preferred candidate.

But acquiring him won’t be easy either, and as Sport points out, German giants Bayern Munich are also keen on him, making the move even more difficult for Barcelona.

Currently, the €70 million Colombian star appears to be favored by Bayern Munich, and the German club is making steady progress in its negotiations with Liverpool.

The Merseyside club are asking around €70-80 million for him, a figure Bayern are considering paying as they want another crucial player in their attack to accompany Harry Kane.

However, Barcelona considers this figure too high and plans to keep it below €60 million, an amount similar to the release clause in Neco Williams’ contract, including taxes, which the club would have paid had the Spaniard agreed to join them.

With Luis Diaz out of the picture, English striker Marcus Rashford remains the Catalans’ only viable option. The player is valued at around €40 million, but Barcelona are looking to sign him on loan with an option to buy.

Therefore, it remains to be seen who the new player will be to bolster Barcelona’s attack next season, but Luis Diaz is increasingly looking like a tough sell.