Federico Chiesa was one of the names being considered by FC Barcelona to reinforce the left wing. In the last days of the transfer market, negotiations for the Italian reached an advanced stage and the player was very close to wearing the Barça shirt next season. In fact, he had agreed a three-year contract with the Catalan club, but ultimately his transfer was complicated due to the Catalan club's financial problems.
Everything pointed to the transfer having 'cooled off' while waiting for Barça to be able to create enough salary space to register him in La Liga. However, 'SPORT' has reported that the reality is very different. According to the Catalan newspaper, the problem was not only the registration of the transalpine, but the lack of liquidity of the Catalans. The club had offered 10 million euros for the transfer of Federico, but could not afford the payment. Deco informed Juventus that they did not have the cash available to deposit this amount, and proposed paying it in instalments over five years.
This proposal completely disconcerted the 'Vecchia Signora' and the player himself, and was immediately rejected by the 'bianconeri', who were looking for immediate income and were not willing to divide the payment. Similarly, Chiesa, who had already agreed to make an economic effort to secure his landing in Barcelona and give the club time to register his contract, was not willing to sign for five years.
Barça, with serious financial problems
Thus, beyond the fact that the Catalans have not been able to activate Nike's lever to balance their accounts and return to the 1/1 rule, the reality is that the Catalans continue to face serious liquidity problems even in a transfer whose price is well below the numbers handled in the current market. Although the Catalans' offer for Chiesa was genuine, various financial setbacks prevented the deal from being closed. As a result, Liverpool's offer was accepted in Turin and Federico will be a 'red' for the next four seasons.