FOOTBALL
Depay refuses to leave Barcelona, snubs Xavi
Memphis Depay has announced that he will be staying at Barcelona.
Many clubs like Chelsea and Man United were reportedly interested in the 28 year-old’s signature.
Earlier this week, rumours emerged that Depay had put in a transfer request to Juventus.
Two days later, we heard that Juve pulled out!
This brings to a close, one of the most intriguing transfer windows ever in Barcelona’s history.
It also means that Barcelona will have six star forwards competing for just three positions in Xavi’s team.
Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha came in on the back of huge transfer fees.
They joined the trio of Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele who were already in Xavi’s attacking plans.
How it went
Less than an hour before the window slammed shut, Depay tweeted that he would not be leaving Spain.
“I have decided to stay at Barca! Fully committed to contribute to the club’s sporting success,” Depay posted.
It later emerged that Chelsea was never really a likely prospect as they were more interested in pursuing Aubameyang as well as Juventus defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria.
However, it’s surprising that Depay would elect to stay at Barcelona however, given that he is not part of Xavi’s plans for the club.
The Dutch international has been left on the bench for the opening three games of the season.
He only joined the club a year ago on a free from Lyon and scored 12 goals in 28 La Liga games.
In other transfer news, Barcelona terminated Martin Braithwaite’s contract on Thursday before the Dane moved to city rivals Espanyol.
Marcos Alonso will also head to Barcelona with Aubameyang moving to Chelsea, as part of the deal.