Barcelona know who the big threat is in 'Operation Thuram'

Borussia Mönchengladbach have thrown in the towel on Marcus Thuram. The club's sporting director, Roland Virkus, is aware that the player will leave for free at the end of the season, however much it pains them.

Speaking to SPORT1, Virkus said the club "has decided to give up Marcus Thuram. We have to accept it, there are much bigger clubs interested in where Marcus could go."

For a club like Gladbach, it is a big disadvantage when players of this stature leave the club at zero cost. He continued: "It's not good for the club when players leave without us making a profit and I can't even sweeten the pill."

Among the big European clubs interested in the French international are Barça, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. It seems that both the player and his father, Lilian Thuram, who played for Barça between 2006 and 2008, would prioritise Barca as a destination: "If you give me the contract, if you have it, I'll sign it". 

However, there are other big clubs who would like to sign Thuram, such as Inter and Bayern. Inter, who tried to sign the Frenchman two years ago, ended up opting for Correa. There were also contact from Atletico Madrid during this past winter transfer window. 

Although they face two major competitors, the Nerazzuri' have in their favour the 'Crescita Decree', a decree related to financial fair play that has been relaxed and allows them to raise the net salary of players up to 5 million, an offer that they hope will be attractive to Thuram and keep him away from the temptation of Barca, who will fight tooth and nail for him.