Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s proposed loan move to Barcelona from Arsenal is in major doubt after talks broke down over the financial part of the deal.
Aubameyang flew to Barcelona to visit family and did not have meetings with club officials.
Discussions between the clubs had centred around the percentage of Aubameyang’s wages Barcelona would pay, Skysports reports.
Aubameyang had made “financial sacrifices” to try and get the deal done but time is running out for Barcelona to come up with the money Arsenal want.
He is expected to return to London.
There is an element of surprise in some quarters that Aubameyang has headed to Barcelona before a deal had been agreed.
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, Morata will stay at Juventus.
Arsenal are willing to allow Aubameyang to leave after stripping him of the captaincy in December following a disciplinary issue.
The 32-year-old has not played for the club since December 6, and was left out of their squad for their warm-weather training camp in Dubai this week.
Sky Sports News reported earlier in the window that the 32-year-old would prefer a move to a top European club if a deal could be agreed.
Marseille, Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan all expressed an interest, while Saudi Arabian clubs Al Nassr and Al Hilal made loan offers with obligations to buy.
The drop in 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.
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.
There was a notable highlight after that when he scored twice in Arsenal’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea in the summer of 2020. But almost as soon as his new contract was signed that September, there has been a sense of decline, of a player whose best days are behind him.
Stripped of the captaincy, too often the leadership has had to come from elsewhere. It is the young players driving Arsenal on under Mikel Arteta, not their best-paid player. That is a situation the club knows well having been through similar with Mesut Ozil. It cannot last.
At 32, there will be hope that Aubameyang could yet recapture his best form, inspired by new surroundings and the challenge of restoring Barcelona to their former glories. At Arsenal, any regret will be tempered by the feeling that it is time for the club to move on.
