Barcelona crushes Manchester United dream to sign Brazilian star

Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu has told Manchester United and Chelsea that the club is not ready to sell Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho. Brazilian forward Coutinho, who joined Barcelona in January 2017 in a £142million move from Liverpool, is already being linked with a departure from the Nou Camp. The 26-year-old has already clinched three titles at Barca but has endured a somewhat frustrating season, only scoring four La Liga goals.

Image result for bartomeu

Premier League giants Man United and Chelsea have reportedly expressed interest in striking a summer deal with Barcelona to bring Coutinho back to England. For Chelsea, Coutinho could be seen as a replacement for Eden Hazard, who appears to have his heart set on a move to Barcelona’s Spanish rivals Real Madrid. But the clubs may be forced to look elsewhere for attacking reinforcements as Barcelona’s president, Bartomeu, says he has no intention of selling Coutinho.

Image result for coutinho

‘We expect a lot from him [Coutinho],’ Bartomeu told Marca. ‘We do not want to sell him, he’s one of the good players we want to have.’

Barcelona chief Bartomeu also confirmed he would be interested in signing Spain midfielder Isco if he decided to leave Real Madrid.

Image result for bartomeu

‘If our coaches asked us for a player and they wanted to leave Madrid then of course we would sign them,’ he told COPE. ‘It hasn’t happened since I’ve been here, but there are no non-aggression pacts and each team wants to become more competitive. We would talk to Madrid about Isco.’ Coutinho scored 54 goals in 201 appearances for current Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Image result for isco

Meanwhile, Andreas Pereira has revealed he has has a dream to play for Brazilian club Santos. The Brazilian featured sporadically under former manager Jose Mourinho but is seemingly not in Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s plans at present. Pereira was linked with moves to Arsenal, West Ham and boyhood club Santos last month. And the midfielder has now revealed on Brazilian TV that he spoke to the president of the South American side, but a move failed to materialise.

Image result for Andreas Pereira pogba matic

“I’m always following [Santos]. I’m a really sick Santista. We fight a lot with my partner here, but it’s part of it,” he told Esporte Interativo.  “He says Corinthians are bigger, I do not know where. Also, by the way, there was even this speculation that I was going to Santos. I even talked to the president, but unfortunately it was not possible. I also think that I have to finish a more established career here in Europe.

Image result for Andreas Pereira pogba matic

“So later, of course, it’s a dream to play in Santos. I told him, he understood, he was very nice to me. Of course, I wish the best for them, and God willing, this year we’ll win a little trophy there with Santos, right? I have a lot of desire to play in Brazil and my preference will always be Santos. Of course, also, my family is from Paraná, we really like Athletico Paranaense. I think it’s the two clubs, if it is to have preference, they are the two clubs that I would like to play in Brazil.”

Image result for Andreas Pereira pogba matic

Pereira was also linked with a move to Fiorentina last month. And Florence-based newspaper La Nazione claimed the Serie A club’s interest in Pereira had given United an idea regarding a potential summer deal. The publication claims the Red Devils could have offered the Brazilian out last month in order to ‘build relations’ in regards to their Nikola Milenkovic chase. The Serbian centre-back has been a long-time target of United’s and is seen as a potential antidote to their defensive problems.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *