The board at La Liga giants Barcelona used the outlandish recent spending of Premier League counterparts Chelsea against them during this week’s talks surrounding Fermín López.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who have on Saturday provided an insight into the latest developments in the saga.
Chelsea, it is understood, recently moved forward with an opening offer for Fermín’s signature.
As much came in the form of a €40 million proposal, which was rejected without so much as a 2nd thought on the part of the Camp Nou brass.
Not only that, but Deco and co. made use of the opportunity to use the past big-money spending of their Stamford Bridge counterparts as grounds to demand an altogether more considerable sum for Fermín.
As per a report from MD:
‘The club used the 116 million paid to Brighton for Moisés Caicedo as an example to Fermín’s agent.’
With as much in mind, the understanding is that Chelsea would need to raise their offer to closer to €70 million to even bring Barcelona back to the table.
Conor Laird – GSFN
