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Barcelona haven't had a moment to rest this summer transfer window and they still have a lot to do in the coming weeks.
Lionel Messi has left Barcelona and is now a Paris Saint-Germain player. Barcelona will get their new season underway on Sunday. But they are yet to register their new signings. It will be interesting to see what business the Catalans will be able to pull off in the rest of the summer transfer window.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 13 August 2021.
Ronald Koeman opens up on life at Barcelona after Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi's departure has left Barcelona in a state of despair. Manager Ronald Koeman has now offered his thoughts on how his team will cope in the Argentine's absence. He said he is disappointed at the shocking nature of Messi's exit and said the club has to focus on moving on now.
He said (via ESPN )
“We have new players in and we have to move forward and we have time for that. We have young players in the squad this season and it’s also for the future, we are working on the future of this club and it’s really important to have our focus on this and not focus on what happened in the last few days.
“Of course we will have more difficulties to score goals, Messi scored 30 goals last season. So other players need to bring more and take the next step and it’s more about the team now than individual players.
“It’s not always one player, you have to do it together. Hopefully, we get players back from injury like Ansu Fati and Coutinho and then we still have a strong squad. We will work harder, we will do more to achieve what people expect from us.
“We are still in the transition. We have to understand that the start of this season is difficult. We still have COVID, for all the clubs, but still we have players with injuries so we cannot put all the players for playing because we are still missing good players. We did a good preseason, we have young players in, but if we get all the players back from injury the squad is still a strong one.”
Barcelona ready to shoulder 50% of Coutinho's wages to send him on loan
Philippe Coutinho will go down in Barcelona's history as one of their biggest transfer flops. The Brazilian, who made just 14 appearances in the 2020-21 season before being sidelined with an injury, earns €9 million annually in wages.
Barcelona are desperate to get him off their books. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Catalans have offered the 29-year-old to Serie A outfit Lazio. Barcelona are reportedly willing to shoulder 50% of Coutinho's wages. But even then Coutinho's wages could be too expensive for Lazio.
It is further claimed that Coutinho wants to move to a Champions League playing club. Worse yet, Lazio are in a horrible financial situation themselves and will need to sell players before they can register new ones.
Barcelona to register Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia on Saturday
According to Mundo Deportivo (via BeSoccer), Barcelona are all set to register new signings Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia on Saturday. There have been concerns over whether or not Barcelona will be able to register the new players before their season opener against Real Sociedad.
Emerson reportedly doesn't need to be registered as a new signing as Barcelona shared ownership rights with Real Betis. Barcelona, however, will need to wait before they can register Sergio Aguero. The former Manchester City striker is currently out injured for two months.
