Raphinha deal prompts cash-strapped Barcelona to put quartet of stars up for sale

Barcelona pair Memphis Depay and Ronald Araujo

Cash-strapped Barcelona are reportedly looking to offload a quarter of first-team stars after clinching a deal to sign winger Raphinha from Leeds United.

Barca emerged victorious from a three-way tussle with London duo Chelsea and Arsenal to sign the Brazilian attacker for a £49million fee upfront, plus £8m in add-ons.

The Catalan club’s president also revealed that Barca have reached an agreement over a new deal for Ousmane Dembele on a good day for the struggling LaLiga side.

But by securing the services of the two wingers for next season and beyond, some players will have to leave.

And according to Sport, Barcelona will listen to offers for Memphis Depay, Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite and Neto.

Despite having enormous debts, Barca have triggered a ‘second economic lever’ in a bid to rebalance their books. They have done this by selling a percentage of their future TV rights to US investment group Sixth Street.

However, players not expected to be regular starters after now considered expendable.

Philippe Coutinho has already been offloaded to Aston Villa, while Rey Manaj has joined Watford and club legend Dani Alves has departed for a second time.

Clement Lenglet and Francisco Trincao have also been loaned out to Tottenham and Sporting respectively.

Barca firesale set to begin

However, Sport claims that the Catalans will now actively seek to ‘force’ out the quartet named.

Tottenham have been tipped to sign Depay, although the arrival of Richarlison is likely to have scuppered that.

Umtiti, meanwhile, could have his contract terminated if he cannot agree an exit.

It’s also thought that academy graduates Oscar Mingueza and Riqui Puig could also be offloaded.

Barcelona are not done regarding incomings though and are still trying to work on a deal for Robert Lewandowski.

The Poland star remains with Bayern Munich but is keen on the switch to the Nou Camp.

All that remains is for Barca to work out how to find the deal before the summer window closes.