Barca couldn’t sign Depay because of their wage bill - report

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A deal was agreed but could not be completed

Barcelona reportedly came extremely close to signing Memphis Depay from Lyon on deadline day but saw the transfer eventually blocked by La Liga.

According to Catalunya Radio, the Catalan giants were set to land Depay for just €5m plus €10m in variables after agreeing the transfer with Lyon.

However, La Liga stepped in to prevent the deal going through as it would have meant Barcelona exceeding their salary limit.

The report adds that Barcelona have “promised” to sign Depay in January when the transfer window opens again, and as he’s in the final year of his contract he’ll be free to negotiate.

Lyon sporting director Juninho revealed at the weekend that Depay had an agreement with Barca, while Jean-Michel Aulas has since admitted it’s not great they couldn’t sell their captain as he’ll be a free agent next summer.

Barcelona have been trying to trim their squad this summer and have offloaded Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic, Rafinha and Nelson Semedo among others. Those details have seen €80 million removed from the wage bill, according to Sport.

Source: barcablaugranes.com