What’s the story?
Barcelona star Andre Gomes has been offered to Real Madrid by his agent Jorge Mendes according to reports in Spanish outlet Don Balon (who admittedly have a murky reputation in terms of transfer rumours). The report further suggests Real Madrid were interested in signing the midfielder last season from Valencia but were beaten to the punch by Barcelona who paid £35 million for the Portuguese international.
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Real Madrid are said to reportedly re-kindle their interest given the 23-year-old could be available in a cut-price deal.
In case you didn’t know..
Andre Gomes, to put it mildly, has had a poor season at Camp Nou. The fans have made him the scapegoat for high-profile losses, and it is safe to say that the Catalan media is not exactly in love with the Portuguese.
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To his benefit, he has had the support of his manager Luis Enrique but with the Spaniard set to leave in the summer, his future at the current La Liga holders is anybody’s guess.
The heart of the matter
“I can and will say that 1000 times over, even if he is criticized a lot. He can play in different positions ... he's only using 30 percent of his capacity. Imagine him at 100 percent”, Luis Enrique defender Andre Gomes bullishly earlier in the season.
But, his performance on the pitch has been, at best, average. With rumours (around the time when Barcelona actually signed him from Valencia) saying that the fee for Andre Gomes could rise to £60 million with add-ons, it makes sense for the Barcelona management to cut their losses.
What’s Next?
Both Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo are reportedly admirers of the Portuguese international. To be fair to the 23-year-old, he was very impressive in Portugal’s campaign during the European Championships and also his time at Valencia.
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However, it is unlikely he will get another season to settle into the Barcelona team. For Real Madrid, it would be the best story in the world if he signs from Barcelona and is more successful at Madrid than his time with their rivals. Makes a lot of sense.
Author’s Take
Irrespective of his time at Barcelona this season, Andre Gomes is a talent. But, he might not be the £60 million talent the Blaugrana management though he was when they signed him.
For Real Madrid, he is a very solid player who they were interested in and might be handed to them on a plate by Jorge Medes (who is close to Real Madrid given his connections with Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo). This has the makings of the most controversial of transfers since Figo’s move to Real Madrid.
Do you think this could happen? Tweet me your opinions on @soumalyamoitra7
