Gerard Pique leaving gives Barca chance to sign in January
The Catalans can purchase in the winter window with Pique's salary off the books
Gerard Pique announced his impending retirement by surprise on Thursday, and it could have a quick impact. Clearing his salary off the wage bill will allow the club to add a new player in January.
The sports department are working on that already, and the idea is to bring in one or two players who can help the team immediately.
Sergio Busquets is set to leave in the summer too and Barcelona want to negotiate with Jordi Alba to lower his salary.
The idea is to bring in a right back and a pivot. They also wanted to advance a summer deal to sign a crack, and now they can do that. It’s tricky but this will be an atypical winter market after the World Cup. Anything could happen.
Barcelona will not be planning on adding a centre-back in January as they have Christensen, Eric Garcia, Kounde and Araujo, plus Marcos Alonso who can play there.
The idea is to sign Inigo Martinez for free in June from Athletic Bilbao.