Having lost Sergio Busquets at the end of the last season, with the 34-year-old joining Lionel Messi at MLS side Inter Miami, Barcelona have been on the lookout for a new starting pivot so far this summer.
Having failed to sign Martin Zubimendi, Joshua Kimmich and Marcelo Brozovic, they have recently turned their attention to Oriol Romeu, who had previously come through the La Masia academy.
Romeu is available for €8m – his Girona release clause – but Barcelona do not want to pay this all up-front, and have offered to pay it in instalments. However, Diario AS have reported that Girona will not accept this.
Furthermore, Girona have complained about the conduct of their Catalan rivals during the negotiations for Romeu, and as a result, they will not look to enter talks regarding the 31-year-old. Instead, they will insist that Barcelona pay the release clause.
Barcelona’s poor financial situation is very well-documented, so it is understandable that they will try to save funds where necessary. However, their efforts to do have certainly not gone down well at Girona.