RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesFC Barcelona star Ferran Torres has broken his silence regarding a possible summer transfer to the Catalans' European rival Paris Saint-Germain.
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FC Barcelona striker Ferran Torres has addressed a possible move to Paris Saint-Germain during an interview broadcast by NBC .
“Right now I have a contract with Barcelona,” Torres said. Though what has caught the most attention back in Catalonia is the Blaugrana number 7 adding: “But, honestly, in football you never know what can happen.”
Said contract expires on June 30, 2027, meaning Ferran can become a free agent in just under 11 months’ time.
Barça wants to offer him a renewal, but can only do so in September owing to its long-standing Financial Fair Play (FFP) issues.
In the meantime, Ferran’s former Spain boss Luis Enrique wants to lure him to the Parc des Princes as he’s successfully done with the likes of ex-Barcelona stars Ousmane Dembele and Dro Fernandez in recent years.
The weekend saw reports from MARCA that Barça won’t stand in the way of Ferran switching allegiances if that’s what he wants.
This is the last window that the Catalans can hope to pick up a substantial fee for a player it paid $63 million (€55 million) to acquire from Manchester City in late 2021.
During his tenure at the Spotify Camp Nou, Ferran has won three La Liga titles while scoring 65 goals across 207 appearances.
That return should arguably be higher, thought it’s worth noting that Ferran has often acted as an understudy to the recently departed Robert Lewandowski now at the Chicago Fire.
FORBES | By Tom Sanderson FC Barcelona Coach Flick Makes Striker And Ferran Torres Confession FC Barcelona coach Hansi Flick knows that Ferran’s future needs resolving
Commenting from Barça’s preseason camp in England on Monday afternoon, Flick acknowledged that the defending Spanish champions need to take action and determine who will play up front next term.
Ferran could become the main man in Lewandowski’s absence as his club fails to land Julian Alvarez. Alternatively, a transfer to PSG for the scorer of Spain’s winning goal in the World Cup final could push Flick to look in-house.
“It depends on the team. We have to wait. I have total confidence in Deco and we know we have to do something. It also depends on Ferran. We’ll see what we’ll do,” Flick said.
“Lamine (Yamal) has played a couple of games with us (as a false nine). He’s a fantastic, world-class player, and he can adapt to that. Our focus is on him playing as a '7’, but we’ll see what happens,” the German added.
With Ferran still around or not, FC Barcelona kicks off its La Liga season with an away trip to Elche on August 23.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
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