Raiola and PSG take another player off Barca
In recent seasons, PSG have been victorious in the transfer battles they participated in against Barcelona. As well as Verratti, Rabiot and Neymar, you can now add the young Xavi Simons to the list.
Barcelona were not capable of keeping hold of Xavi Simons, a young Dutch talent, who rejected, according to 'Mundo Deportivo', 200,000 euros a year from Barcelona. The Barca player said no to the sporting and financial conditions offered by Barcelona and decided to leave for PSG. Part of the reason was the large amount of pressure his agent, the controversial Mino Raiola, put on him.
Simons, who has a deal with Nike and almost two million followers on Instagram, boasts about being a star despite being just 16. Possibly a big error for a player who has still not achieved anything in his career. However it was, Barca once again lost a battle with Raiola - he fought to make sure De Ligt did not play at the Camp Nou - and with PSG, who in the last two years have caused Barcelona havoc on the transfer front.
First it was Verratti who had been sought after by Barca for various years. The biggest of the rows came in 2017 when the talented Italian midfielder even ended up getting into a spat with PSG to let him leave. He was Barca's target as they saw Verratti as the perfect man to succeed Xavi Hernandez. However, Barca ended up without Verratti and PSG, seething at the Spanish side's attempt to take him, ended up signing Neymar off them.
It was an unexpected and enormous transfer. The most expensive of all time. In the blink of an eye, Neymar moved from Barcelona to Paris for 222 million euros. It was the beginning of a 'war' between the two sides. A fight which still persists today and precisely, Neymar is once again the protagonist. The Brazilian wants to return to Barcelona, but PSG are calling all of the shots. "No is no," shouts Leonardo at the moment.
But there is more because Rabiot's name cannot be omitted from this list. The fight for the French midfielder went on for months. There were times when it seemed like he was very close to joining Barcelona, but the Parisians were flabbergasted by what they called a ridiculous and disrespectful offer for him. In addition, just like what happened with Griezmann, Barcelona's methods of carrying out the transfer were questioned as PSG claim the transfer laws were broken. The end of the story is already known. Rabiot ignored PSG and Barca and ended up joining Juventus.
In this particular fight between the two clubs, there is, as always, the exception to the rule: Frenkie de Jong. PSG were licking their lips months ago at the prospect of getting the Dutch midfielder. They thought they had almost sealed the transfer, but Barcelona were cleverer and more alert. For once, Bartomeu defeated Al-Khelaifi. 75 million euros caused it. It was another episode of a battle between two clubs which does not look to be ending anytime soon.