Barcelona may have the funds to afford Luis Diaz this summer despite Liverpool’s desire to keep the winger.
The Spanish giants have held a long-term interest in the Colombia international, and they could accelerate a move for him after missing out on top target Nico Williams.
Hansi Flick’s side aren’t the only ones in the race for the 28-year-old, with Bayern Munich having a bid of just under £60million rejected by Liverpool on Tuesday (15th July).
The Reds are yet to set an asking price for Diaz as they have no intention of selling this summer, and so far they are remaining firm on their stance.
However, Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Barcelona could scrape together the funds to be able to afford the Liverpool star.
Diaz’s Barcelona move could hit registration issues
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that Diaz’s move to Barcelona won’t be halted due to financial concerns, but could fall apart due to registration issues.
The Catalan side have had a number of instances over the last couple of years where they have failed to meet financial fair play requirements and have been barred from registering players as a result.
Wyness added that despite their issues, Barcelona will still be a very attractive proposition for Diaz.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “It’s such a weird position in Barcelona and nobody really gets to the bottom of it. In some ways, it isn’t so much the money, it’s a case of can they actually register players?
They had to go and appeal to get a couple of players registered in the past. Diaz’s position is that he’s prepared to go to Barcelona, but if this happens again and they can’t register him, he wants compensation and payment for the time that he can’t play, which seems to me a very fair position.
“Nico Williams on the other side said, no, I want a release clause and I want to be able to go and play if you can’t register me. So they’ve got themselves into this mess where I don’t think it’s necessarily financial.
“They could probably afford or scrape together the money somehow. They always seem to have access to money, even though the numbers don’t work at a club level. There’s some mysterious, magical financing going on.
“I think it’s this registration issue at the bottom of it. They are still a very attractive club to go to. Obviously, they were playing some great football last season, so no wonder it attracts
It’s a great city to go and live in. It’s a very appealing place for players. We’ll have to watch. I don’t think it’ll be the money. I think it’ll be this registration issue that we’ve got to keep an eye on.”
Liverpool to seal major signing
Meanwhile, Liverpool are increasingly likely to complete the signing of Marc Guehi as soon as Crystal Palace agree a £45million deal for Sporting Lisbon defender Ousmane Diomande, sources have told Football Insider.
Diomande is being targeted by Palace as a direct replacement for Guehi, who has been linked with a Selhurst Park exit for over a year.
Sources say that a domino effect could be triggered as soon as the South London side bring in the Ivorian defender, as it would enable them to sell their captain.