Barcelona aren’t happy, say Mundo Deportivo.
Not only did Manchester United steal one of their targets to bolster their defence, but the price they paid for him has made it far more difficult for them to get their other targets.
Bought for a reported €40m (£31m) from Villarreal, Eric Bailly had barely played 18 months of professional football before José Mourinho decided to splash the cash on the Ivorian.
Because of this high price, clubs are now asking for more as they believe their players should go for similar prices as their abilities are on par with the 22-year-old’s.
For example, Las Palmas have upped their demands for Barcelona target Mauricio Lemos, wanting clubs to meet the player’s release clause (£23m) when they were once happy to sell him for less.
John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos are all out of their price range, while the club seems to have already agreed a deal with Lyon for Samuel Umtiti for around £19.1m.
Mundo Deportivo, in true Catalan press fashion, claim Barcelona ‘need a defender more than anyone’, but the problem is, they don’t want to pay a lot for one.
Maybe one day they’ll realise that being a big club means paying a bit over the odds?
After all, they can afford to reject €190m for Neymar.
