Barcelona relieves two players of their jobs

Barcelona has offered to release Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti from their contracts, Goal reports.

Manager Ronald Koeman has deemed the two as surplus to requirement ahead of the new season.

Pjanic, 31, only arrived from Juventus last summer in a deal worth €60 million. However, he started only six of the 13 LaLiga matches in which he featured last season.

Umtiti has failed to hold down a starting place since arriving from Lyon five years ago. The Frenchman also limited to just 13 league matches in 2020-21.

The Spanish giants will have to pay both players off, given Pjanic has three years left on his contract and Umtiti's runs for another two seasons.

Barca will negotiate with them with the hope of convincing them to accept a compensation package. If they refuse the offer, the club will have to pay them the full salary for the rest of their contracts.

The Catalan club is trying to free up space in the squad and their budget.