Koeman Rubbishes Rumors, Says Barca Have No Deal With Lyon’s Depay Or Any New Players

FC Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has admitted the club has not reached an agreement with Lyon over Memphis Depay’s transfer this summer, while he also expects to have the same group of players for the Catalans' 2020-21 season.

It was previously reported Barcelona had agreed to pay an initial fee of $29 million for Depay, whose current deal with Lyon is due to expire in 2021.

Sports website ESPN reported Barcelona do not have the funds to make any new signings this summer. This was later confirmed when Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas tweeted his Barcelona counterpart Josep Maria Bartomeu had told him the same in a conversation Sunday.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has stated that Lyon and Barcelona have mutually agreed to Depay’s transfer fee of $29 million and the French side will immediately accept the Barca bid whenever it’ll be submitted, but the La Liga club can only go forward with it if it manages to sell players at the ongoing summer transfer market. The Catalans sold Ivan Rakitic for $1.7 million to Seville, and Arturo Vidal is expected to join Inter Milan later this week for a similar low fee. The likes of Rafinha and Luis Suarez are currently on top of the list of players the club wants to sell in the coming days.

Koeman had coached Depay during his stint as Netherlands manager between 2018 and 2020. "We're working towards the new season and I think we will go into it with the same group of players that we have now for pre-season," the Barcelona coach told Fox Sports Netherlands.

Barcelona are aiming to reduce their wage bill amid their financial crisis that has worsened due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is understood Barcelona’s wage bill is the largest in soccer, with over $600 million spent on the players’ salaries last season.