Rabiot to Barcelona off: The French champions have reportedly refused to do business with Barcelona.
Barcelona’s season has been underwhelming so far. The defending champions of La Liga slipped to second place in the league after being held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia before the international break. Surprisingly, Sevilla are at the top of the table, as Barca’s arch-rivals Real Madrid also face a heavy decline in form.
The Catalan giants are winless in their last four La Liga games, and their 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur is the only saving grace in a rather disappointing season so far. Ernesto Valverde’s side has only scored 15 points from their first eight matches in the league.
The situation outside the pitch provides little to celebrate for the Barca fans as well. After being heavily linked with French midfielder Adrien Rabiot, the club received a shock when PSG announced they won’t be dealing with Barcelona at all.
Rabiot to Barca off?
According to French media outlet L’Equipe, the move for Rabiot to Barcelona could be off. The president of Paris Saint Germain, Nasser El-Kheilafi has reportedly declared that he won’t do business with the Spanish club.
El-Kheilafi is reportedly furious with the Barcelona president, Josep Bartomeu.
Barcelona want 19-year-old Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt as a replacement for Gerard Piqué and PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who is out of contract this summer. (Source: Mundo Deportivo) pic.twitter.com/wBLppnSu4I
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) October 11, 2018
According to the report, El-Khelaifi has even disallowed one of his executives, Adrien Tarascan, to attend an event organized by Barcelona in November.
📰 [SPORT] | Rabiot to Barça helped by FFP
🔶 Barcelona have not given up on signing the Frenchman
🔷 For now Rabiot and PSG have not reached a deal on a new contract, with the player turning down his club’s offers four times. pic.twitter.com/XGPqaCWO0s
— BarcaTimes (@BarcaTimes) October 11, 2018
Camp Nou will be hosting the Sports Technology Symposium over the two days in November, which will see clubs from all over Europe gather to identify sponsorship opportunities.
Adrien Rabiot has turned down a third offer of a contract extension from Paris Saint-Germain.
The midfielder’s deal expires at the end of the current season and that has attracted interest in him from the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Barcelona (Mail) pic.twitter.com/6RgYOntWir
— Simon Phillips (@SiPhillipsSport) October 4, 2018
Rabiot’s deal with Paris Saint Germain expires in 2019, and the midfielder has reportedly denied a third contract from the club. He is keen on the move to Barcelona, according to Spanish media outlets.
Barcelona target Adrien Rabiot has rejected a renewal offer from PSG for the third time. The departure of the French player is getting closer and closer, and starting next January he will be able to negotiate with any club he wants. [paris united via md] pic.twitter.com/zgpWoFAhyn
— Barça Centre (@barcacentre) October 2, 2018
The 23-year old was linked heavily with Barcelona throughout the summer, but no deal was put on the table by the Catalan club. As the date of contract expiry nears, various European clubs, primarily Manchester City, Chelsea and Juventus are also eyeing a move for the midfielder, according to reports.