:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58014749/891957898.jpg.0.jpg)
Adding to an already silly transfer saga, the Vice President of Independiente, Pablo Moyano, confirms that an offer for Ezequiel Barco has been made in the amount of around $14 million, but that the club doesn’t want to sell the 18-year-old for less than $20 million.
VP Pablo Moyano on Barco: "There was an offer for him & for some he was sold but it's not like that. There's no chance of him going for that money ($14M). Hopefully if an offer of 20 or 30 million comes in he will be sold." pic.twitter.com/DAmAZcJpD7
— Independiente in Eng (@CAI_english) December 17, 2017
The $14 million offer is presumably that of Atlanta United. The statement could be posturing or a real attempt to get more money for the club’s prized winger. It could also be the club’s front office trying to save face after Independiente supporters reacted negatively to the idea of Barco moving to MLS. Rumors of Atletico Madrid entering the race to sign Barco could have spurned on this sudden rise in price.
It seems that a fee in the range of $20 million would only come from a club in Europe, which would appease those in Argentina who generally believe the club deserves more in return for Barco, and believe Barco deserves better than MLS. More than doubling the fee originally reported seems a bit much, though.
Stay tuned...