THE PLAYER WILL JOIN CRISTIANO IN AL-NASSR
Barça's 'plan B' for the centre of defence ended up in Saudi Arabia for a fortune
Published:31/08/2024 - 08:01h
Updated:31/08/2024 - 08:01h
Mohamed Simakan was tempted by millions from Saudi Arabia. Although the former RB Leipzig player was on Barça's agenda to reinforce the defence, the centre-back will finally join Cristiano's Al-Nassr, who paid the Red Bulls a fortune for his signing
The situation in the centre of defence was a real headache for Hansi Flick and FC Barcelona. At the beginning of the summer, the Catalan club tried to get rid of several defenders due to the overbooking in the position, but in the final stretch of the transfer market, the German coach's squad has been short of players in this area of the field due to injuries and transfers.
Clément Lenglet and Mika Faye left Barcelona to go to Atlético de Madrid and Rennes, respectively, while Ronald Araújo and Andreas Christensen suffered physical problems that will keep them off the pitch for several months. Eric García joined the list of injured for several days, although finally the youth player has recovered in time for the clash against Valladolid this Saturday.
However, in a context in which the Catalan centre of defence only has three guaranteed players, Can Barça tried to acquire the services of Jonathan Tah, an old acquaintance of Hansi Flick, to reinforce the position, but Bayer Leverkusen closed the door on his departure. The Catalans activated their 'plan B' and began to make inquiries for Mohamed Simakan, although in the end the Frenchman's future would take another path.
And the fact is that Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr wanted to give their defence a leap in quality, so they finalised the arrival of the RB Leipzig player on the last day of the transfer market. The Saudi club had an agreement with PSG for Milan Skriniar in the works, but given the Slovenian's lack of response, they started the process to incorporate the 24-year-old Frenchman into Luis Castro's ranks, closing his transfer for around 45 million euros, as reported by journalist Florian Plettenberg.
An 'unreal' option for Barça
The operation of the defender was unaffordable for the Catalan club, since the player will receive around 15 million euros plus variables per season in the Saudi Pro League. Unattainable numbers for Barça's current economy, which hoped to close the renewal with Nike before the end of the summer window to face a signing of this calibre. However, the deal could not be signed on the scheduled date and the Catalans lose one of their targets to the Saudi petrodollars.
