Manchester City are to go head to head with bitter rivals Manchester United for the signing of Barcelona utility man Sergi Roberto.
This comes according to Calciomercato, who claim that Pep Guardiola is ready to pay the Spanish international’s relatively low (£40 million) release clause in order to sign him ahead of United, who are also interested.
The report states that Roberto, who can play at right-back and right-mid as well as in central midfield, would like to extend his stay with the Catalan side, but Don Balon report that he is asking for a wage increase big enough to match Gerard Pique’s salary, which could be a sticking point.
Roberto joined Barcelona’s youth setup as a 14-year-old and graduated through the ‘B’ team into the senior side in 2010; but it wasn’t until 2013 that he was made a full-time senior Barca player.
He is seen as the embodiement of the club’s fans, with an unrivalled workrate and a great passion for playing for his club; he is best known for his stoppage time winner against PSG in last season’s Champions League as Barcelona overcame a 4-0 first-leg deficit by beating the French side 6-1 at Camp Nou, including three goals in the last four minutes of the game.
Barcelona are yet to open contract talks with Roberto so a £40 million January move could certainly be on the cards as the club will be powerless to stop him leaving if he fancies joining Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola at City.
