The first three pages of Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo on Tuesday cover Barcelona’s efforts to snatch Gabriel Jesus from the clutches of Manchester City. Despite the Catalan press previously reporting such a thing would be impossible, they reckon Barcelona are making last minute attempts for the Palmeiras player.
The club’s sporting director Robert Fernandez is still in South America working on deals, and refuses to throw in the towel for Gabriel Jesus.
Robert is rushing through contacts and conversations with not only the player’s representatives, but also his family, in the hope of convincing them to pick Barcelona. Then it’s believed a deal would be relatively simple.
Barcelona are set to use Neymar in order to help swing the player’s desire their way.
However, it may not be quite so simple. Despite Pep Guardiola, it’s likely Gabriel Jesus would pick the Barcelona option 9 times out of 10, if there wasn’t money involved.
It’s not simply a case of Manchester City paying higher wages, this is also related to fee. Barcelona can buy Gabriel Jesus for €24m, thanks to a contract clause, but Manchester City’s offer is €32m.
Gabriel’s economic rights are divided between Palmeiras (30%), Cristiano Simões (32.5%), Fabio Caran (22.5%) and himself (15%).
Gabriel Jesus reportedly has a €30m clause for other clubs, but Manchester City are paying more than that. The higher the fee, the more he gets, and the more the two agents get, and it’s a very convincing argument.
To swing the mind of Gabriel Jesus, and the agents, Barcelona may well have to pay more than their clause. That may ultimately make them walk away from a deal which could approach the same kind of complications seen with Neymar.
