Barcelona FC is looking to sign Colombia football star Juan Cuadrado, Spanish news sources said on Tuesday.
Barcelona will “fight to the end” to acquire the talents of Cuadrado this year, Spain’s daily sports newspaper Sport reported.
The team is up against strong competition from other big names such as England’s Manchester United, according to Marca.com. Manchester offered up a reported 35 million euros ($47 million) to Italy’s AFC Fiorentina for the Colombian player on Monday, though the Italian club has stated it aims to sell Cuadrado for at least $53 million.
Previous rumors that Germany’s Bayern Munich was also interested in the Colombian were squelched yesterday, when sporting director Matthias Sammer called the news “utter nonsense” according to US sports site Bavarian Football Works.
Cuadrado’s signing would be ” a key reinforcement for the future,” Sport reported. “Cuadrado is a player that’s capable of occupying different positions as we have seen in his time with Italy, and with the Colombian National Team.”
The newspaper tweeted Barcelona’s intent early Tuesday morning, also indicating that Cuadrado will be sought out by Barcelona regardless of the status of Brazilian star player Dani Alves next year, whose contract ends in June of 2015.
Cuadrado: Con Alves o sin Alves http://t.co/jUvMHrv7vG
— Diario SPORT (@sport) July 22, 2014
Alves’s future has a direct correlation to Cuadrado’s possibilities with Barcelona. Cuadrado normally plays the same position as Alves, and so Luis Enrique, Barcelona’s new manager as of May, will either try to clinch Cuadrado to play a different position (right-back) or perhaps sell Alves to raise Cuadrado’s monetary offer, Spain’s online sports newspaper Marca reported.
Fiorentina’s chairman Andrea della Valle has confirmed Friday as the deadline for a decision on Cuadrado.
Cuadrado has played for Fiorentina since 2012, and previously played for clubs such as Italy’s Udinese Calcio, US Lecce, and Colombia’s Atletico Uraba.
Despite the looming uncertainty about his career, the soccer star took time out of his week to play soccer with children in an impoverished neighborhood in Medellin on Monday before boarding a flight back to his base in Italy.
MORE: Juan Guillermo Cuadrado surprises underprivileged Medellin youth with soccer equipment, games
Sources
- Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, prioridad de Barcelona así Dani Alves se quede (La F.M.)
- Cuadrado: Con Alves o sin Alves (Sport.es)
- Alves holds the key to Cuadrado’s future (Marca.com)
- Bayern Munich respond to rumors of a Juan Cuadrado move (Bavarian Football Works)