Gündoğan, Ansu Fati, Vitor Roque, and 4 other stars who need to escape Barca by the end of August

There’s not much time left before the transfer window closes – it shuts on August 30. This is when the market gets the most intense – clubs go all-in, signing players for big money, while others let go of star players cheaply because they don’t want to continue paying high salaries.

Vitor Roque (Barcelona)

A year ago, the Catalan club signed Ilkay Gündoğan and Iñigo Martínez as free agents, offering them rather high salaries. This summer, Barça’s management wouldn’t mind parting ways with the midfielder and defender to lighten the wage bill. In January, the Catalans rushed to sign Vitor Roque (who was supposed to join the team in the summer), but now they don’t count on the Brazilian forward. Players receiving offers from Barcelona should at least remember these two stories.

Roque’s future in Barcelona is indeed uncertain. The club is somewhat disappointed that the 19-year-old forward hasn’t adapted yet, doesn’t grasp the style, and can’t keep up with the game’s rhythm. They want to loan him out. However, Vitor and his representatives are firm – he either stays or leaves permanently. In any case, this isn’t the first year the Brazilian envisioned at his new club.

Many clubs have shown interest in Roque, but none are on Barcelona’s level – Betis, Everton, Bournemouth, Sporting, and even Al-Ittihad. What’s clear is that the forward won’t be playing for Barça in the new season, as the club hasn’t registered him yet, and he isn’t prioritized for a spot in the squad.

Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona)

Another story showing the disarray in the minds of Barça’s bosses. In the summer of 2023, Ilkay chose Barcelona because the club promised him a two-year contract. This term was crucial for the German, who wanted stability for his near future and his family’s. That’s why he rejected a new 1+1 contract with City. Now, Barça is eager to let Gündoğan go to register Dani Olmo and lighten the wage bill.

Diario Sport reports that relations between the player and the club have cooled in recent months, and Hansi Flick doesn’t see Gündoğan as key in his project. The midfielder was left out of the squad for the first league match against Valencia – allegedly due to injury.

Recently, it was revealed that Ilkay would like to return to Manchester City, where Pep Guardiola would welcome him back. Barcelona might even let him go for free – that’s how badly they want to get rid of one of their best players from last season.

Ilkay definitely needs to escape this club.

Clément Lenglet (Barcelona)

Lenglet is a major headache for Barça’s management. The 29-year-old French central defender moved to Catalonia in 2018 but hasn’t played for the Blaugrana in two years – spending loan spells in the Premier League, first with Tottenham and then Aston Villa. The problem is his salary, one of the highest at the club – €16 million before taxes. Paying that much for a player the team doesn’t need is excessive. That’s why Barça wants to offload Lenglet as soon as possible.

He’s received offers from Saudi clubs, but he turned them down. Currently, the Frenchman is considering offers from Atlético Madrid and Villarreal, but both cases face challenges due to his high wages. Barcelona wants Lenglet to decide next week and urges him to lower his financial demands.

Ansu Fati (Barcelona)

Another high-paid player at Barcelona is Ansu Fati. The 21-year-old earns €13.9 million a year, though he hasn’t been a key player or someone the club has high hopes for in a long time.

This summer, Ansu returned to the club after a loan at Brighton – but almost immediately got injured, preventing him from showing his skills during pre-season. Now, Barcelona’s management wants to part ways with Fati. His injury has made negotiations difficult, so the Blaugrana are hoping he recovers before the transfer window closes.

Sevilla, Wolves, Marseille, and Fenerbahçe are all interested in him. In any case, top clubs aren’t currently considering Fati. But he’s still young – perhaps his time is yet to come.

Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich)

Somewhat unexpectedly, Bayern Munich is open to parting ways with Leon Goretzka. German journalist Florian Plettenberg reports that the club is putting pressure on the 29-year-old midfielder, urging him to consider a transfer. Goretzka wants to stay and fight for his place in the squad but is ready to leave in the winter if he doesn’t get enough playing time.

Goretzka is very frustrated with the current situation but remains professional and trains hard, though it hasn’t helped so far – he wasn’t included in the squad for the first round of the DFB-Pokal against Ulm.

Vincent Kompany hasn’t commented much on the rumors surrounding Goretzka’s future but hasn’t denied them either, as managers usually do in such situations: “As a club, we always want clarity with our players. And that’s a family matter, so there’s no need to discuss it publicly.”

Bayern hasn’t set a specific price for the player yet, but they’re open to negotiations with interested clubs.

Federico Chiesa (Juventus)

At the start of the summer, reports emerged that Federico was disappointed with Juventus. The Turin club offered him a much lower salary than he wanted during contract negotiations, leading Chiesa to feel he’s no longer valued by the Old Lady. And while in June it seemed like just the player’s assumption, it’s now clear – Juventus isn’t counting on the winger.

The team’s new coach, Thiago Motta, decided that Federico would no longer train with the first team – the player has been removed from the main squad and is now practicing with the reserves.

Juventus is working on finding a new club for the Italian, with a price tag of €15-20 million. There are plenty of rumors – Barcelona, Inter, Milan, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, and even Beşiktaş. The main stumbling block in negotiations could be the player’s salary. At Juventus, he was earning over €9 million per year.

Beşiktaş, for example, explained why the negotiations with Chiesa fell through: “We made our offer, but their demands are unrealistic. It’s hard to meet them. We must be cautious to avoid another mistake clubs sometimes make. Beşiktaş’s interests are more important than big names.”

Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)

There’s clearly no future for João Cancelo at Manchester City. The Portuguese defender hasn’t been seen as a City player for a while, though he still belongs to the club. A year and a half ago, Cancelo began his loan journeys – first to Bayern Munich and then Barcelona. All because of a fallout with Pep.

City’s management would be happy to offload the 30-year-old player with a salary of £13 million a year, whom the coach doesn’t need. They’re asking for €25-30 million, but there aren’t many takers willing to pay that much yet.

Barcelona was reportedly considering buying Cancelo, but City wasn’t satisfied with their offer, and the player’s agent contacted representatives from Inter and Juventus. Cancelo is also of interest to Al-Ahli and Al-Ettifaq, who would surely have €30 million to spare for a star player.