Barça don't want him anymore, but he would turn down a fortune from Arabia to stay

Barcelona is at a crucial moment. After several years in which it went through financial difficulties that prevented it from having a top-level team, last season it was able to win the La Liga title and now it is excited about becoming a favorite again in the Champions League, a tournament it has not won since 2015, when Messi and Neymar shone in the Culé attack.

Weeks ago, La Liga approved the viability plan presented by Joan Laporta. Among other provisions, that project foresees a series of decisions to be taken by Barcelona in this transfer window with the aim of reducing the total amount of salaries and having enough money to be able to sign top players to help improve the team.

For that reason, they have agreed to the departure of Samuel Umtiti and intend to do the same with Clément Lenglet. But there is another player in a similar situation who, despite the insistence of Laporta and Xavi, seems to have no intention of changing clubs. He is Franck Kessie, the Ivory Coast-born midfielder who arrived at Barcelona last year from Milan.

Kessie signed a 4-season contract with Los Blaugranas and receives a salary of $6.5 million per year. Given that Xavi does not consider him a priority, the club intends to transfer him this summer, but he has different plans. According to Mundo Deportivo, the player's initial response was that he wanted to stay at Barcelona or, failing that, move to the Premier League or Bundesliga. The offer made to him by Al-Hilal could change his mind, but so far it has not happened.

He has competition

Kessie played 43 games for Barcelona last season. However, his performances were not enough to convince Xavi and from now on he will have less place in the team. This is because İlkay Gündoğan, who excelled at Manchester City and plays in his same position, arrived as a signing.