Ilaix Moriba Offered to Liverpool with Barcelona in Financial Turmoil

Barcelona are in a spot of financial bother, having lost Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain on a free after being unable to afford to register his proposed new contract while remaining stars like Gerard Piqué take pay cuts in order to fit the squad under La Liga’s spending cap.

Meanwhile, one of their most promising youngsters, 18-year-old midfielder Ilaix Moriba, has rejected attempts to extend his contract and could leave on a free next summer—and to make things worse, his representatives are said to be actively shopping him around Europe.

In England alone he has been linked with Manchester City, Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester, West Ham, Wolves, and also Liverpool because why not. In every case, it seems to be the player’s representatives putting the information into the world.

It’s a laundry list of names so long it’s hard to read too much into the idea that any one of those clubs being an especially likely destination. That impression is only bolstered by past reports that the 18-year-old was seeking a six-figure weekly salary to stay at Barcelona.

For a fringe first team player that seems excessive, and it’s that excess that’s said to be the reason the financially floundering Catalans—apparently smart enough to at least not hand €100k or more a week to an 18-year-old—have accepted he won’t be around long-term.

When you add it up, the wage demands and that the player is seemingly being shopped to every club in England and presumably elsewhere in the hopes someone will offer those kinds of wages, no matter the chatter you have to assume Liverpool won’t be interested.

Still, Barcelona’s current financial predicament could mean there are bargains to be found amongst their youth and fringe players as they look to trim the wage bill and raise funds—even if it’s rather difficult to imagine Liverpool being in for Moriba in particular.