Josep Bartomeu reveals Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann are one of the EIGHT Barcelona stars, including Lionel Messi who is NOT for sale – because he leaves the door open for Philippe Coutinho to return if Ronald Koeman wants him
- Under-fire president Josep Bartomeu of Barcelona outlines this integral for club
- Ax is expected to fall on a number of stars after a demolition of Bayern Munich
- Crisis Association is under massive pressure with Ronald Koeman set to become boss
- Bartomeu mentioned eight players who were not allowed to leave the Nou Camp
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has revealed which stars will not be sold this summer as the crisis club looks to reopen.
Bartomeu, who has refused to resign from his post, gave a lengthy interview TV from Barcelona and described how the Catalan side planned a massive renovation.
Crucially, incoming manager Ronald Koeman sees Lionel Messi as an important part of the project, so his inclusion is a given, but a total of eight players have been seen as integral who will not be allowed to leave.
Josep Bartomeu, president of Barcelona, wrote which key men will not be sold this summer
Ousmane Dembele (left) and Antoine Griezmann (right) will not allow leaving Barcelona
Following the loss of the LaLiga title to fierce rivals Real Madrid and the abject 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, most of the squad are on the cutting edge.
But Bartomeu said: ‘Messi is unreachable & non-transferable. He knows it, we all know it.
‘But there are several non-transferable players like (Marc Andre) Ter Stegen, (Clement) Lenglet, (Nelson) Semedo, (Frenkie) De Jong, (Antoine) Griezmann, (Ousmane) Dembele … players where’ we are counting on it in the future. ‘
The 17-year-old sensation Ansu Fati is another name controlled by the club president which is seen as a big part of the future.
‘We have (offers) for Ansu Fati, for example,’ Bartomeu continued.
Bartomeu added that Ronald Koeman promised him that Messi would continue to be a ‘key player’
Teen star Ansu Fati has already been the subject of offers but has not been allowed to leave
‘But Barca do not want to sell players, although we get several offers for players.
‘We do not want to sell him. He has a great future. I’m telling you from here, he’s not transferable. ‘
Philippe Coutinho returns to the Nou Camp and has scored twice against his parent club for Bayern in the quarter-finals and the Brazilian player could still have a part to play next season.
Bartomeu opened the door for the former Liverpool man to stay, saying: ‘The head coach will make the decision. If he wants him to continue, he will play with us next year. ‘
And the 57-year-old made it clear that Messi would not go anywhere, given his utmost importance to the club.
Philippe Coutinho could stay at Barcelona if he is in Ronald Koeman’s plans next season
Koeman is set to be at the helm of the new man and will have a major rebuilding job on his hands
“I have talked to Koeman and the pillar of our project is Messi,” he said. ‘He has a contract until 2021, I talk a lot with Leo and more regularly with his father.
‘He’s number one in the world. There is no doubt that in Koeman’s new project you can count on Messi. ‘
Koeman will inherit a graying squad in dire need of a rebuild and is set to take the helm following the dismissal of Quique Setien. Technical secretary Eric Abidal is another who got the booty in the throat of the Bayern humiliation.
Many even called Bartomeu to step down, but he said: ‘We did not want to resign, we wanted to do the planning for next season. To dismiss now would be easy but irresponsible. We have a sports crisis, but no institutional crisis. ‘
There are club elections next year and he is widely expected to miss re-elections.
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