Soccer

PSG’s Adrien Rabiot to join Barcelona on a free transfer

Midfielder will make the switch in the summer when his contract runs out

Adrien Rabiot will leave PSG to join Barcelona in the summer. Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Fabrizio Romano
Fri Jan 4 2019 - 18:44

The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot will join Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer.

The 23-year-old’s contract runs out in the summer and he has agreed a signing on fee of €10m as well as a salary of just over €190,000 a week for five years with the La Liga leaders.

Rabiot has been at PSG since 2012 and was always expected to be the heartbeat of PSG’s midfield for years to come but his form has stagnated in the past couple of years and he will now attempt to relaunch his career in Spain. Despite being one of his country’s best young prospects he has played only six times for the national team.

Barcelona are also confident of signing the 19-year-old Toulouse defender Jean-Clair Todibo on a free transfer in June. Manchester City and Juventus were among the clubs interested in the young centre-back but Barcelona have convinced the player to join them as they continue their overhaul of an ageing squad.

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PSG, meanwhile, are in pole position to sign the young Ajax midfielder Frenkie De Jong, who had also interested Barcelona and Manchester City. The French club are in advanced talks with Ajax and are likely to agree a fee in the region of €72.5m for the 21-year-old midfielder.