"Bartomeu told me he didn't have the money to make an offer for Depay"
Olympique Lyon's president, Jean-Michel Aulas, doesn't believe Depay will join Barça this summer
Memphis Depay's on-off move to FC Barcelona could turn into the transfer saga of the summer. In Holland, they claim the deal is practically complete with Barça paying around €25m to bring the forward in. However, Lyon's flamboyant president Jean-Michel Aulas has poured cold water on those reports.
Aulas responded to a tweet from Dutch outlet (Voetbal) which claimed €30m would be the final price. "Barça's president told me on Sunday that they are suffering a lot, financially, because of the COVID-19 crisis and won't be able to make an offer for Depay."
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Lyon give up on trying to convince Barça target Depay to stay
It remains to be seen if this is a strategy for Aulas or whether Bartomeu is looking to hold the deal off until nearer the transfer deadline. Either way, the Lyon president is a veteran at causing controversy in the transfer market.
Memphis kost Barcelona 30 miljoen euro | Voetbal | https://t.co/ENn92q9lkf @ol @Le_Progres Le président du Barça m’a indiqué dès dimanche que le Barça souffrait beaucoup d la crise du Covid et n’avait pas de possibilité de faire une offre.#memphis https://t.co/R1eGdE276j
— Jean-Michel AULAS (@JM_Aulas) 15 de septiembre de 2020