Newcastle star ‘furious’ after Champions League exit tipped to leave as Barcelona opt to sell key player to fund £100m raid

Newcastle were knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday and reports suggest they could lose one of their best players as a result.

The Magpies needed to beat AC Milan and hope that Paris Saint-Germain didn’t beat Borussia Dortmund in the other Group F fixture to qualify.

Newcastle ultimately lost the game 2-1 and PSG drew with Dortmund to send Eddie Howe’s team out of Europe.

They still have plenty to play for, though. They will no doubt be eyeing another top-four finish in the Premier League and have a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Chelsea next week

However, a report from Football Transfers has today claimed that one of Newcastle’s star players Bruno Guimaraes is ‘furious’ about their early exit from Europe.

They claim that the Brazil international, who only signed a new contract in October, could be ‘open to offers’ if the Magpies fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Now, it appears one of Europe’s biggest clubs is ready to make a move for Guimaraes should he become available.

READ MORE: Newcastle handed chance to sign Lille defensive star in cut-price January window deal

Barcelona to sell Lewandowski to finance Guimaraes move

The report from Football Transfers claims that Barcelona are ‘ready to pounce’ should Guimaraes seek a move away from St James’ Park.

The Catalans were heavily linked with the midfielder in the summer, with manager Xavi thought to be a big admirer of his.

Guimaraes played a key role in Newcastle’s success last season. He made 40 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals and making five assists in the process.

He has remained as one of the first names on Howe’s team sheet this term, too, netting one goal and laying on two assists in 23 outings so far.

Understandably, the manager is desperate to keep hold of the 26-year-old for as long as possible. But it seems Barcelona could take drastic steps to finance a move next summer.

Football Transfers adds that the LaLiga giants could sell Robert Lewandowski to generate some extra cash for the deal.

The former Bayern Munich striker is past his best at the age of 35, but has still netted nine times in all competitions this season.

Barcelona will have to match Guimaraes’ £100m release clause to have any chance of signing the Newcastle star, however, so the Spaniards would have to sell a few more players to recoup anything close to that.

Guimaraes reportedly ‘loves the idea’ of playing for Barcelona, though, so it will be interesting to see how this story develops over the next few months.

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