Leverkusen's plan to prevent Jonathan Tah from joining FC Barcelona

The 'soap opera' between Jonathan Tah and Bayer Leverkusen is set to continue for a long time. The player wanted to try new challenges and looked for an exit during the last transfer market, with Bayern Munich and, later, FC Barcelona as the two main candidates to sign him. However, the aspirin board closed the door on him, 'straining' the relationship between both parties a little.

This was made clear by his agent, Max Bielefeld, who days after the summer window had ended, said that "we would have liked to make a transfer this summer and, at the same time, offer Leverkusen a price for a player who deserved it. It was never our intention to say that we would let the contract run out and then leave for free. That was never Jonathan's intention, nor ours, but it has been clearly and openly communicated to Simon Rolfes, and also to Fernando Carro, that Jonathan does not want to renew his contract at this time. Which means that he would leave the club for free next summer."

Barça lead the bid

After his agent's words, Tah himself came forward and confessed that his desire is to leave the German club as a free agent in June 2025, thus awakening speculation about his next destination. Clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and the aforementioned Bayern Munich are after him, but it is Barça that is best positioned to secure his services at zero cost.

The Blaugrana squad is looking to reinforce the centre of its defence with a top-level defender, and the German fits the profile sought both sportingly and financially. Hansi Flick already had him under his orders during his time on the bench at 'Die Mannschaft' and he is the club's main 'trump card' to convince him to land at the Spotify Camp Nou with a free transfer under his arm, a scenario that the BayArena hopes to avoid at all costs.

Leverkusen's plan

Beyond the 'give and take' between the club and the player, Leverkusen do not want to let go of one of their main players. For this reason, the newspaper 'Sport Bild' claims that the leaders of the German team are planning a final offensive to keep him in the team. The aspirins would offer him a new, and improved, contract, which would mean a significant increase in his income and in his role in the team, with the hope that the player changes his mind and decides to stay in the Bundesliga. A proposal that would threaten the intentions of Barça, who could lose one of their main objectives for next summer.