Barcelona cannot afford to buy Memphis Depay because of the hit their finances have taken during the Covid-19 crisis, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has claimed.
The dramatic twist on Tuesday evening followed reports that Depay was set to leave Lyon and be reunited with Ronald Koeman, who until recently was his Netherlands coach, at Camp Nou.
The striker looked set to move to Spain in a deal costing Barcelona in the region of €25-30 million, various reports indicated.
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Yet the deal now looks to be off, with Aulas declaring Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu personally told him the Catalan giants were in no position to make an offer.