Barcelona are prepared to release Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti from their contracts, according to reports.
The Catalan giants are attempting to cut down their wage bill as they work to keep Lionel Messi at the club.
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Ronald Koeman has told Barcelona neither player features in his future plans and the La Liga side want to take the opportunity to slash their wage bill by releasing the pair.
Samuel Umtiti lors du match de Liga entre le FC Barcelone et Elche, le 24 février 2021 au Camp Nou.
Image credit: Getty Images
Umtiti has long been linked with an exit from Barcelona having suffered with injuries in recent seasons and made just 13 appearances last term.
While Umtiti has spent five years at Barcelona, Pjanic only joined the club last summer in a big move from Juventus.
‘Messi renewal talks are going well’ – Laporta
Barcelona forked out £55 million to lure Pjanic to Spain, but it now appears the Spanish giants are already prepared to cut their losses.
Pjanic has three years left on his deal and Umtiti two, meaning it will be a tall ask to convince either player to walk away from Barcelona.
Barcelona intend to sit down with both and present a compensation offer, but ultimately it will be down to the players if they want to accept an exit.
While the club are working to trim the squad of deadweight, Barcelona have made several cost effective moves in the transfer market.
Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay have all arrived on free transfers, while Emerson Royal was signed from Real Betis.
‘The best thing for Barca is Koeman to stay’ – Barca president Laporta
Barcelona paid £8m for the Brazilian after exercising their option to buy the player outright after sharing co-ownership with Betis.
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