Barcelona continue their efforts to strengthen their squad despite Javier Tebas' comments that paint a very bleak picture of the club's finances.
On Thursday, the La Liga chief suggested that Barcelona are unlikely to be allowed to add more players to their squad as they have no room in the budget when things remain stable. It is understood that the league leaders need to raise £178m by selling players to have a chance to rejuvenate Xavi's squad.
However, Tebas' comments during the Financial Times' Business of Football summit do not affect Barcelona's plans as the board is expected to do 'homework' ahead of the transfer window. summer.
Bernardo Silva has been named as Barcelona's main transfer target. And according to SPORT, club president Joan Laporta is working with the midfielder's agent Jorge Mendes to facilitate his move to Camp Nou.
Barcelona work directly with Mendes to sign the star 65 million euros
The Portuguese player has long been on Barca's radar. Attempts to sign him before the current season failed as Frenkie de Jong's move to Manchester United failed to materialise.
Then, in the winter transfer window, Manchester City rejected a loan offer with an option to buy from Barcelona. Pep Guardiola's side have reluctantly accepted the departure of a key player mid-season. Silva scored in the Sky Blues' 2-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Luckily for the Blaugrana, Silva remains open to a new adventure.
City will receive an offer of around 65 million euros for the 28-year-old, whose contract at Manchester has just two years left. While their asking price is not considered an issue by Barcelona, ??Silva's salary could further complicate the move as the topic of financial justice is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Given Silva's quality and versatility, rest assured that Barcelona will do everything in their power to cross the line on the third attempt.
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MILAN, March 5 -- AC Milan squandered their chance to take second place in Serie A on Saturday after a 1-2 loss to Fiorentina, ending the defending champions' recent flurry of form. .
Nicolas Gonzalez's penalty three minutes after the break and Luka Jovic's late header gave Fiorentina all three points and ended Milan's four-match winning streak ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Tottenham.
Theo Hernandez scored in stoppage time for fourth-placed Milan, tied by 47 points with local rivals Inter ahead of Sunday's game against Lecce.
Stefano Pioli's side, without suspended star striker Rafael Leao, are behind Lazio after a superb win over leaders Napoli on Friday, putting the capital club in second place.
Roma will overtake Milan on goal difference if they beat Juventus on Sunday night. "Fiorentina was better than us today, but not because our minds are on Tottenham," Pioli told Sky.
"It's going to be another game, it's a knockout and tonight's performance won't affect us, nor will Tottenham be affected by their two consecutive losses."
Fiorentina meanwhile remains 12th, level with Torino on 31 points, after the victory came on the fifth anniversary of the death of former Viola captain Davide Astori.
Astori died in his sleep in his hotel room that day in 2018, at the age of 31, when Pioli was leading Fiorentina.
The former defender grew up in Milan's youth team and was cheered by more than 40,000 fans at the Stadio Artemio Franchi when the game was stopped at 13 minutes in honor of his old shirt number.
Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano told DAZN: "We missed a win against one of the strongest teams, but today the boys were super, they all played with quality and determination. . "If we keep playing like this, we'll have fun at the end of the season."
Draw for Atalanta
The home side would have taken the lead midway through the first half if Fikayo Tomori hadn't been present to save Giacomo Bonaventura's close-range finish.
But it was the England international who created the opportunity for Fiorentina to take the lead before being turned by Jonathan Ikone and clumsily handled, causing the French striker to be cut down in the penalty area.
Gonzalez chilled his shot past Mike Maignan and from there Fiorentina, fueled by raucous cheers, rarely seemed to be pushed back.
Pietro Terracciano saved Olivier Giroud's header then rushed to deny Hernandez just before time, but aside from the consoling goal of the French full-back, it was a Milan goal.
They were almost saved when referee Marco Di Bello confusingly awarded a manual penalty when Artur Cabral headed into a tight corner in the 78th minute, but the decision was quickly canceled by Di Bello after when checking the pitch screen. And once Jovic headed into Dodo's precise pass with three minutes left in the game, that was it.
Milan's defeat would be a relief for Atalanta, who qualified for the Champions League after a goalless draw with Udinese.
Gian Piero Gasperini's side remain sixth and are five points behind leaders Italy after a lackluster performance against a well-formed opponent in Bergamo.
Rafael Toloi was the closest scorer for the home side, his low shot at the last minute was superbly saved by Marco Silvestri.
Udinese has won just once since the start of October and is ninth, tied with 32 points with Monza, who beat Empoli 2-1 in Saturday's opening game. - AFP
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