Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie has been singled out as one of the prime candidates to leave the club this summer, as they look to raise funds through sales. Yet it appears they have some work to do to convince the Ivorian of their plans.
This has been the case for some months now, and in March, Kessie’s agency denied reports that he would leave the club in the summer.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Kessie was in fact willing to leave the club, after a supposed conversation with manager Xavi Hernandez. This came shortly off the back of reported interest from Liverpool in the former Milan midfielder.
🚨 Franck Kessie's agent has publicly described the reports of him accepting to leave Barça as FAKE news. Via @FabrizioRomano pic.twitter.com/7d53EJ68OT
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 7, 2023
However Kessie’s agent has once again denied these reports, screenshotting a story linking him with an exit, and branding it with a ‘Fake News’ stamp on social media. Gerard Romero has since claimed that Kessie’s entourage maintain their position that Kessie does not want to leave.
Kessié's agent is in Barcelona. His entourage claims that the player does not want to leave. @gerardromero
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 7, 2023
In addition, the news of Liverpool’s interest in Kessie was denied by sources in England too, which appears to shut down any hint of an exit for Kessie.
Liverpool have 'zero' interest in Franck Kessié. @JamesPearceLFC
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 7, 2023
Clearly, there is an interest from somewhere in filtering out the news that Kessie wants or is open to leaving the club. The likelihood is that this is a method of putting pressure on Kessie. While he himself has had a mediocre season, the desperation to bring in funds in order to get closer to their salary limit this summer is forcing Barcelona to act ruthlessly in the transfer market.
I’m sorry kessie but you are not barca quality