Nelson Semedo freezes his contract renewal with Barca

Barcelona declared Nelson Semedo untransferable last summer, but he’s back in the front line with the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, not keen to accept the offer until 2022 the club have put on the table. Semedo is open to a change of scene if Barcelona don’t back him firmly as a starter.

Discussions between Mendes and Barca started in January. The agent was key in helping to get Abel Ruiz out and Trincao in. Barcelona initially said they wanted to extend Semedo’s deal by two years more, until 2024, and if he did not accept the door would be open.

Semedo and his people have decided to freeze the conversations to see what interest there is in him on the market. There aren’t a lot of top level full backs around and Mendes is confident he can place him. PSG would be an option, linked to Neymar’s transfer, although Semedo is liked in the Premier League too.

Barca are looking at a potential swap for Joao Cancelo and Man City, which could work well for both clubs. Barca think Semedo’s value is more than that of Cancelo though. Juve and Atletico wanted him last season.

Barca are sure that if Semedo doesn’t renew then they will lose strength because his contract is running down and so they need to sell him this summer before his price erodes. Setien is convinced he can get more out of him but for now it’s all frozen. His value, at minimum, is 45m euros.