Barcelona still can’t find a solution for their Miralem Pjanic problem
Barcelona desperately want to offload Miralem Pjanic and his bloated salary, but the Spanish giants can’t find a taker for the veteran midfielder.
It’s possible that no European club faces more financial pressure this summer than Barcelona. The La Liga giants are suffering from intense pressure to lower their wage bill ahead of the upcoming campaign. Offloading Miralem Pjanic is a big part of the club’s plans to cut costs.
The problem for Barcelona officials is that no other club is in a rush to take on Pjanic’s salary. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Bosnian is still expected to leave the club this summer but no transaction is imminent. Juventus appeared to be interested in bringing Pjanic back to Italy earlier in the summer, but at the moment their interest appears focused on Manuel Locatelli instead.
The timing of Pjanic’s potential departure will only become a bigger issue for Barcelona as the 2021-22 season approaches. The club are desperate to announce new transactions but they can’t be formalized until they can be fit into the existing wage structure.
So what can Barcelona realistically do with Pjanic?
Barcelona don’t have a plethora of options to consider here. Any club interested in acquiring Pjanic would be wise to wait a few more weeks before expressing even cursory interest. At some point, Barcelona will be forced to consider paying some of Pjanic’s salary if they want to tempt another club into taking him in on loan.
The only good news is that Pjanic should still have quite a few admirers across Europe. He may be significantly overpaid at the moment, but his exceptional skill on the ball would still be a tremendous asset for most big clubs on the continent. Pjanic has never relied on athleticism to dominate a match. That should allow him to continue to be a productive player even at this relatively late stage of his career.
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In the end, Barcelona will be able to achieve their goal of offloading Pjanic before the start of next season. The only question is whether or not they can find a club capable of soaking up his entire salary. It’s very possible Barcelona officials will need to offer up cash if they want to be free of their Pjanic problem.