Whenever a story claiming Lionel Messi or Neymar will be moving to the Premier League surfaces, it’s best to take it with a pinch of salt.
Messi and Neymar have both been linked moves to Manchester City and Manchester United respectively in recent weeks, yet supporters have not appeared to get too carried away.
But maybe they shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss any potential transfers as mere speculation.
It’s now being suggested that the mighty Barcelona are being pushed to their financial limits as they fight to keep their star men out of the clutches of the Manchester clubs.
Despite yielding £482m off the back of their treble winning season, The Daily Mail claim that the club’s board are growing concerned at the prospect of losing their two stars.
The wage bill at the Nou Camp is said to be unsustainable, taking up 73% of the club’s outgoings and breaking the club’s own financial regulations.
With Barca demanding an improvement on their £40m-a-year sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways, there is also currently no deal in place for next season.
On top of all this, it’s also claimed that the club’s success has also been costly – with Barca handing out sizeable sums in bonuses.
Perhaps we could be seeing Neymar and Messi in Manchester after all.
