Sergi Roberto and Nelson Semedo have been at the heart of plenty of transfer speculation in recent weeks – especially the Portuguese international.
As I explained in a lot more detail at The Barcelona Podcast, Barcelona’s performance in recent transfer markets has been so shamefully poor that the club’s finances are on the verge of chaos.
Spending over €320 in recruiting Ousmane Dembele, Phillippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann in the space of two years was seen as a risk at the time. With the benefit of hindsight, and given their unimpressive performances to date, I am sure we can agree those were not the brightest moves by the Barca board.
Here is our more in-depth analysis – Listen Now:
Barca’s yearly accounts close on Tuesday 30 June and, as things stand today, the board are missing €150M (because of Covid-19) and a further €70M in player sales.
As a result, Barcelona are now in desperate need of funds not only to be able to recruit much-needed world-class talent this summer (with Lautaro Martinez and Neymar being the most obvious targets) but, much more urgently, to ensure the yearly club’s finances break even.
It has been reported that Barca have offered Nelson Semedo to several major European clubs for €50M, with Juventus, Inter Milan and PSG having engaged in talks with the Catalans.
Manchester City were also contacted about Semedo but, given Pep Guardiola’s expertise and footballing system, the Premier League giants enquired about Sergi Roberto’s situation instead.
And this is precisely the clinching element for me: Why would Guardiola want Sergi Roberto over Semedo if given the choice? Simple: The Spanish international is the better player.
As I debated in our latest The Barcelona Podcast, Sergi Roberto has a higher footballing IQ, which is cemented by the fact that both Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setien have continued to trust him as a starting right-back since the arrival of Semedo.
Sergi Roberto’s pace, strength, versatility, dynamism, tactical discipline and understanding of Barca’s formation and mechanisms given him the edge.
Please note that I also consider Semedo a great player with plenty of potential for further improvement but, given the club’s financial situation, the Portuguese international would be my choice for an earlier departure – for the right price, of course.
