French giants Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly made a move for Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri with the intention of increasing his overall value, his agent has claimed.
The Ivory Coast international is said to have a €40m release clause in his contract, but Paris Saint-Germain have surprisingly phoned president Jean-Pierre Rivere with a view to paying more for the player’s services.
Speaking to RAC 1, agent Franklin Mala revealed that Les Parisiens are putting more player on the Catalan giants by trying to scupper the deal altogether, he said: “Three days ago, PSG phoned the president of Nice and only for one reason — to screw Barca over. Now PSG are putting pressure on the club to take the player. It’s crazy. They just want to do it to f— Barca.”
Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have been at odds over the summer with the latter denied the chance to sign Marco Verratti whilst losing Neymar to the French capital in a world-record move. Reports in the Catalan press suggest that Barcelona are reconsidering their move for Seri, and his representative admits that the midfielder could potentially miss out on his dream move.
Mala added: “Technical decision’ is what I have seen, but no one said anything to me. Barca knew his capabilities. When you want a player you follow him for a while. It was possible to reach an agreement with Barca, a great club. It was Seri’s dream. Nobody understands anything, but we will see.”
Since Neymar’s departure, Barcelona have been hot on the trail of Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho but they have found no breakthrough with their bids to date. A fourth offer worth £137m is likely to be made in the coming days, but it looks unlikely that the Reds will entertain the prospect of losing their playmaker. As a result, Paris Saint-Germain’s Angel di Maria has emerged as an option, although the hostility between both clubs could increase the attacker’s valuation.