On September 22nd, we relayed news from Spain that Barcelona have a ‘basic agreement’ with Adrien Rabiot, whose contract at Paris Saint-Germain expires in 2019.
The front page of Sport has a story about him, which reads ‘Rabiot closer’ and they explain the 23-year-old has already turned down four offers to sign an extension with the Ligue 1 outfit.
In the latest proposal, he was offered €9m-a-year in wages and reports in France indicate that Thomas Tuchel’s side could table a new deal that would see his annual salary rise to €10m, plus an additional signing on bonus.
It is believed that the former Manchester City academy player’s decision to reject his employer’s proposals has nothing to do with money because his desire is to play in Spain or England.
Sport claims this is where the Blaugrana come into play. They’ve followed him for several years and are well aware of his qualities and characteristics. In addition to this, his experience of playing in the Champions League and his age makes him an ideal candidate to become Sergio Busquets’ long term successor at the Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde’s side have neither confirmed nor denied their interest in Rabiot, but the report suggests technical secretary Eric Abidal has had a secret meeting with his compatriot and urged him to wait until January 1st.
If PSG fail to tie down their star to a new deal before the end of this year, then any club outside France can sign a pre-contract agreement with him to join them next summer.
For Barcelona to bring him to the club, they will have to offer big wages and also hand him a hefty signing on bonus.
That’s not the only concern for the La Liga winners in their chase for the midfielder as of now because they will also face competition from Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotpsur, Arsenal and Bayern Munich for his signature. 
Sport claims as each day passes without Rabiot renewing his contract in Paris, the Spanish giants are in ‘best place’ to secure his services. The newspaper advises him to chose a project that has a good sporting project and provides him a great economic offer.
