Barcelonas bid to sign Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang breaks down over wage coverage

The
loan deal between Barcelona and Arsenal to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has
collapsed at the last moment on the final day of the summer transfer window on
Monday. As per Sky Sports, the two clubs did not agree on the financial part of
the deal. Aubameyang flew to Barcelona to visit his family. However, it is learned that
he has not met any Barcelona officials. He is now expected to return to London.

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The
discussion broke down over how much Barcelona should pay to Arsenal as
Aubameyang’s wages.

The
32-year-old Gabon international was reportedly willing to leave the Premier
League club to try his luck with the La Liga giants. Aubameyang in fact made
“financial sacrifices” to play at Camp Nou but the negotiation
between the two clubs stopped over the money part.

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When
Aubameyang had headed to Barcelona it was assumed that the deal was confirmed and he just had to complete the formalities. But on Monday, as the summer
transfer window closed, the deal was not done.

Serie
A giants Juventus also wanted to sign Aubameyang but their move was dependent
on Atletico Madrid agreeing to cut Alvaro Morata’s loan spell short. As it
stands now, Morata will not leave Juventus.

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Arsenal
were willing to let Aubameyang leave the club after he was stripped off
captaincy over a disciplinary issue in December. He has been warming the bench since
December 6, and was left out of their squad for their warm-weather training
camp in Dubai this week.

Apart
from Barcelona and Juventus, Marseille, Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and AC
Milan were also interested to sign the player, while Saudi Arabian clubs Al
Nassr and Al Hilal made loan offers with obligations to buy.

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The
drop in Aubameyang’s performance levels has been so great that it is probably
worth reminding people that Aubameyang was a world-class striker for much of
his time at Arsenal.

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Indeed,
from the day of his debut for the club in February 2018 until the day of his
double against Everton in February 2020, no player scored more Premier League
goals. He scored 49 times in that period, the same as Mohamed Salah and a dozen
more than Harry Kane.