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Barcelona 'desperate' to offload star player

Barcelona are now reportedly desperate to offload one of the side's star players as financial pressure continues to mount on the club. 

The Spanish outfit recently completed the €55 million (about R1 billion) signing of Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig after his impressive 2024 UEFA European Championship campaign, but are believed to be unable to register the player due to their ongoing financial struggles.  

Read: Al Ahly star finally 'gets agreement' to join Euro club 

As such, the attacking midfielder is said to not be available for the side's opening 2024/25 LALIGA clash against Valencia on Saturday.

Fellow new signing Pau Victor, along with Inigo Martinez and Vitor Roque are also understood to be among those who have not yet been registered to compete in the upcoming league campaign.

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As a result, the Catalan giants are "desperate" to sell Ilkay Gundogan before the closure of the transfer window, according to Mundo Deportivo

It is claimed the German midfielder has attracted the interest of Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, as well as teams from Saudi Arabia. 

The Spanish club reportedly do not consider Gundogan a key part of its medium- to long-term future, and his departure would provide the opportunity to free up some much-needed space on the wage bill. 

The Blaugrana would also make a pure profit from his sale, given that the player arrived from Manchester City as a free agent last year. 

Read: Pitso's Al Wahda replacement: The team improved under me 

Another star that Barca would be "delighted" to sell is Raphinha, with the side said to have received an offer of €65 million (R1.2 billion) for the winger earlier in the transfer window. 

Those talks, however, are thought to have broken down, with the LALIGA side now seemingly finding itself in a position where selling either one of the first-team stars would be like "winning the lottery", per Mundo Deportivo.

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