A cash-stripped Barcelona are now eyeing a deal for Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino who will be available for free in the summer, according to The Daily Mail. The Catalans are still looking to strengthen their squad by any means, most likely by signing the free agents that will be available on the market. Barcelona have run out of funds after spending big last summer, where they surprised everybody by splashing a whopping €153m on three signings.
However, they also did some smart business, swooping in four free agents, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso on top of the three paid acquisitions. Liverpool’s Firmino too is free to hold talks with potential suitors this month, given his current deal at Anfield expires at the end of the season. And Barcelona are waiting in the wings to open talks with the Brazilian.
Barcelona to rekindle their interest in the Liverpool forward
Firmino is staring at the twilight of his time at Liverpool, after falling behind a number of new players in the pecking order. A key-player under Jurgen Klopp during the peak years of his Liverpool side which reached the Champions League final twice and won it once, lifted the Premier League title, UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup between 2017 to 2020, Firmino has now lagged behind in terms of playing time.
Since then, the Reds acquired attackers in Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and now Cody Gakpo, further cutting Firmino’s game-time. This season as well, after the arrival of €100m club record signing of striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica, Firmino has only managed 11 starts in the Premier League, scoring 7 goals. However, PSV striker Cody Gakpo’s €56m signing by Liverpool now means Firmino will further pushed out of the picture.
His lack of regular minutes also led to his snub from Brazil’s World Cup squad, which however drew the ire of many. But Firmino himself is considering his future at Liverpool after the recent demotion of his role at the club. The striker has offers from Saudi to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as MLS and Brazil. But Barcelona are leading the race to acquire him for free at the end of the season.
This is not the first time the Catalans have registered their interest in the striker, having previously approached him for a move a couple of years ago. Firmino, who was at the peak of his powers at that time in Merseyside, rejected the lure to switch sides. However, with the tables turned now, the 31-year-old won’t mind a move to Camp Nou, if that means a rise in his game time. On the contrary, Klopp was asked whether Gakpo’s signing will negatively impact Firmino’s future, as he replied:
“No, no. Not for me, absolutely not. We had talks with Bobby and I can say from my point of view I want him definitely to stay. No impact. If you mean by impact that Bobby might [move on]? You have to ask Bobby about that, but from my point of view, no.”
Firmino has carved a legacy at Liverpool, scoring a remarkable 107 goals and providing 78 assists in 348 games for the club. He also has helped the club to six trophies during his tenure, forming the formidable trio of Salah-Mane-Firmino. However, the striker, who still is displaying his goalscoring and playmaking attributes with 9 goals and 4 assists in 21 games will certainly jump the Barcelona boat if he is guaranteed regular minutes under Xavi.