BARCELONA REACHES DEAL TO SELL MEMPHIS DEPAY TO ATLETICO MADRID

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement in principle, according to a source at the Catalan giants on Wednesday.

“This morning we reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of Memphis Depay to Atletico. “We are currently finalizing the details,” the source told AFP.

According to reports in Spain, Atletico Madrid will pay three million euros for the 28-year-old Dutch international on a contract that will last until June 2025.

The former Manchester United striker was not present at the team’s training session in Barcelona on Wednesday afternoon, but “had permission to be absent,” according to the source.

During a press conference before the training session, Barcelona coach Xavi was non-committal.

“At this time, I have no news about Memphis. He remains a Barcelona player. He always brings something, and he is a remarkable individual. “I have no news; we’ll see what happens,” he said ahead of Thursday’s Copa Del Rey match against third-tier Ceuta.

“We’ll speak with him today to see where he stands. “It’s his choice,” Xavi added.

Depay hasn’t played much first-team football recently. After suffering a thigh injury in October and November and seeing little action since the start of the season (four appearances and one goal), Xavi has expressed his desire to leave the Catalan club during the current transfer window.

Atletico quickly expressed interest, but the initial demand of six or seven million euros was deemed too high and was negotiated down.

Depay joined Barcelona as a free agent in 2021 after leaving Lyon.

In 38 games last season, he scored 13 goals and assisted on two others.