Emerson Royal rejoins Barcelona; Wijnaldum agreement still on

Barcelona have triggered the buyback clause of Emerson Royal, and the player will be officially unveiled as a Blaugrana today. He was sent out to Real Betis and spent the 20/21 season there. His performances have been very impressive throughout the campaign, and Barcelona are now paying Betis €9 million to keep him permanently. 

The player has been vocal about his desire to play for the Catalonian club, and his dreams are set to come true now. His situation was rather complicated since Barcelona already owned 50% rights to him when out on loan, and they only had the option to repurchase him at the end of the season. 

Royal’s announcement is set to be the third in three consecutive days after Barcelona confirmed the signings of Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia from Manchester City. Contract talks are still on with Memphis Depay, yet to commit to a future at Camp Nou. 

On the other hand, Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum is all set to join Barcelona, and the deal has never been in doubt. He decided to not renew his contract with Liverpool at the end of last season and is now set to reunite with former Netherlands national team coach Ronald Koeman as a free agent.

There were also rumours that Sergio Busquets was on the list of Bayern Munich as a replacement for Javi Martinez, who left the club due to his contract expiring. However, renowned Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Bayern maintains no interest in the experienced midfielder.