The Fans Football Blog3

Asked about the renewal of the contract of Barcelona defensive midfielder and Ivorian international Yaya Touré (26) (read more here), the player's agent Dimitre Seluk has said in an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 that the first offer falls short:

"The offer they have made is not very good for us. I remind you that when Touré signed for Barça, he got the promise that he would get a pay rise after the first year, a promise that wasn't kept."

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that the offer is that far from what Touré's agent is asking that an exit could be possible (read more here), also because Barcelona has set a limit they don't want to pass.

When Seluk asked for a pay rise earlier this year baecause Touré is one of the least paid players of the squad, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola met with Touré urging him to postpone this type of discussions until the end of the season but promising him at the same time a renewal in the summer. Barcelona has now made Touré a first offer but sources close to the negotiations said that the meeting between Seluk and Barcelona sports director Txiki Begiristain was rather negative.

The agent would have made clear that Touré, who has a contract until 2011 including a buyout clause of 90 million euro°, would have an attractive offer from Arsenal, while Liverpool and several English clubs have shown interest. The Catalan sports paper and Italian sports paper Il Corriere dello Sport claim that Inter Milan would want to include Touré in the transfer of Inter striker Ibrahimovic.

Read more:
Barcelona could consider to sell Toure
Manchester City prepares summer bid for Toure
Barcelona wants to renew the contract of Toure