The Big Three of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid were significantly ahead of the competition last season. And now, they are dominating the La Liga transfer window news cycle to an enormous degree.
The sheer magnitude of the moves they have already made or are reportedly planning to make is simply stunning. Barcelona alone are in the middle of several huge transfer stories that may or may not come to pass, while Real and Atletico have been major players as well.
To get a better sense of what’s going on in La Liga during this silly season, allow SBOBET to break down the latest transfer news surrounding the Big Three, as well as the rest of the league.
Barcelona
At long last, one of the most high-profile La Liga transfer sagas is finally over: Antoine Griezmann has now completed his much-anticipated move from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona for 120m euros.
The French star is set to link up with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on the Barca forward line. But it remains to be seen who else will be playing alongside him at the Nou Camp.
That’s because the other protracted transfer saga surrounding Neymar’s potential return back to the Nou Camp remains unresolved.
PSG sporting director Leonardo has recently made it clear that the Brazilian superstar — who missed his country’s Copa America triumph due to injury — can leave for the right offer. And after he missed the start of PSG’s pre-season training, it doesn’t seem as if Neymar is too keen to return to Paris.
The Spanish giants are reportedly set to offer cash plus three players — Philippe Coutinho or Ousmane Dembele, as well as defenders Nelson Semedo and Samuel Umtiti — to PSG for Neymar. That would be a massive piece of La Liga 2019 news if a deal does get done, although nothing looks imminent just yet.
Speaking of Coutinho, he has also been linked to other clubs aside from Paris. After 1.5 underwhelming years in Spain, the 27-year-old has been touted with a return to England, with Manchester United and his old club Liverpool as possible landing spots.
Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian has denied that Barcelona are going to sell the Brazilian during the summer transfer window. However, it would not be much of a surprise if Coutinho does move on after failing to fully ingratiate himself with the Barca faithful.
Real and Atletico Madrid
In non-Barca transfer news, Manchester United have reportedly set a non-negotiable £150m price tag on Real Madrid target Paul Pogba and will not sell him at any price once the English transfer window closes on August 8.
While Pogba has recently indicated that he’d be ready for a new challenge, Real are apparently not quite ready to pay whatever it takes to bring in the French midfielder.
Madrid have already splashed some serious cash this summer, spending over 300m euros on Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, and Rodrygo.
Perhaps Real can raise more funds for Pogba by getting a big sum for midfielder James Rodriguez, who is reportedly closing in on a move to Atletico.
The Colombian international, who spent the last two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich, appeared to be on his way to Napoli to reunite with Carlo Ancelotti. But he has apparently had a change of heart and would like to play for the other side of Madrid.
Atletico have already done business with their city rivals recently after signing midfielder Marcos Llorente for 30m euros. And if Atleti do land James, their La Liga 2019 odds would improve even more as they would boast an exciting attacking trio that also includes record signing Joao Felix and former Real forward Alvaro Morata.
The Rest of the League
And last but not least, perhaps the biggest transfer news outside the big three clubs is Nabil Fekir reportedly keen on a move to Real Betis. The Lyon midfielder, who was linked with Premier League giants Liverpool last season, is in the final year of his contract and could be on the move for only 30m euros.
Fekir will likely come in to replace Argentine midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who has been linked with a big-money move to Champions League finalists Tottenham Hotspur.
Hopefully, more La Liga sides can make a splash in the transfer market moving forward. But as things currently stand, it’ll likely be the Big Three making even more huge headlines.
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