Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 5y

Barcelona target Rabiot's decision to leave PSG 'firm' - agent

The mother and agent of Paris Saint-Germain's Adrien Rabiot has said her son's decision to not renew his contract with the French champions and leave as a free agent is "firm and definitive."

The midfielder has been strongly linked with Barcelona, and both Veronique Rabiot and PSG sporting director Antero Henrique acknowledged that the Spanish giants tried to buy the 23-year-old last summer as he heads into the final six months of his current deal.

"Adrien's decision is firm and definitive," Veronique told RTL. "As everybody knows, the situation has totally deteriorated, and it is no longer possible to go back.

"During the summer, I told Mr. Henrique that I wanted Adrien transfer listed as he wanted to leave the club and that was clear. I see no disloyalty. The club did not want to sell Adrien -- there was an offer from Barcelona during that transfer window and the club rejected it. They absolutely had the right to do that.

"Now, the situation becomes very, very complicated as Adrien can leave and the club does not want to lose him."

Veronique said that there is no agreement with Barcelona and never has been but also hinted that talks could start from Jan. 1.

"There has been no agreement with any club at any time -- I do not know who started this rumour. I think that some people enjoy believing it.

"I have always respected the rules and protocols -- everybody knows that. I have never denigrated PSG and now I have been attacked by the club through Mr. Henrique, so I have allowed myself a response.

"We are not allowed to speak with any club until Jan. 1 and I will not speak with any club until Jan. 1."

However, Henrique does not believe this and responded to the Rabiot pair in an interview with RMC Sport shortly after Veronique spoke with RTL.

"I was very surprised that Mrs. Rabiot said that an offer was made for Adrien this summer," Henrique said. "That is correct -- an offer was made at 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 before the summer transfer window closed. It is simple as it means that Barcelona had an agreement with the player before coming to us.

"Barcelona's offer was ridiculous. We, as a club, were very surprised by such a low offer and it was disrespectful towards a player of this ability and reputation. It is impossible to reach an agreement for a player like this in 24 hours. So, clearly, Barcelona had already agreed terms with him."

Henrique said that the behaviour of Rabiot and his mother has not been clear for the past few months and that an agreement in principle over a new deal suddenly saw negotiations grind to a halt.

"It must be noted that, at one point, there was an agreement in principle over a contract extension," he said. "However, without explanation, the negotiations stopped immediately.

"I am certain that he has reached an agreement with another club. When the talks were stopped in one go, it was clear to me that he has a deal with another club."

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