Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has expressed his disappointment at Ilaix Moriba’s contract stand-off with the club.
The Catalan giants are in deep financial trouble and have already lost club legend Lionel Messi this summer.
Senior players have taken a pay cut to help with money issues but 18-year-old Moriba, who broke into the first team last season, is reportedly asking for a pay rise.
His contract expires next summer and reports claim he wants to be paid in excess of €100,000-per-week.
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Koeman discussed the saga in a press conference on Friday and explained: “Ilaix? I spoke with Ilaix Moriba 2 or 3 weeks ago, more as a person than as a coach.
“His situation is horrible because he’s only 18 years old, he is the future of the club and I know that the club love him.
“My advice is that money is not the most important thing.
“The truth is that I’m disappointed in him (Moriba) and his agents. I believe more in football than in money.”
Moriba has reportedly been offered around some of Europe’s elite clubs as Barcelona will not play him unless he signs a new deal.
Koeman: “Ilaix? I spoke with Ilaix Moriba 2 or 3 weeks ago, more as a person than as a coach. His situation is horrible because he’s only 18 years old, he is the future of the club and I know that the club love him. My advice is that money is not the most important thing.” pic.twitter.com/c2PnZTGhlG
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 20, 2021
He was omitted from a Barcelona B game earlier this month and didn’t even feature on the bench.
RB Leipzig are said to have shown an interested in the La Masia graduate in recent days.
Moriba has sadly been the victim of racist abuse this summer due to the contract stand-off.
He shared a video that shows the disgusting racist abuse he has received on social media, with some including monkey and middle finger emojis.
The youngster includes screenshots of the messages and comments in the above TikTok clip before mentioning the phrase “‘en serio” – which translates to “seriously?” in English.
Barcelona has since condemned those racist messages on its own Twitter account. “We love football. We fight racism,” they wrote before tagging Moriba.
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