Barcelona 'keen to release Miralem Pjanic, Samuel Umtiti for Lionel Messi funds'

Barcelona have reportedly offered to release both Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti from their contracts, as neither player are in the plans of Ronald Koeman moving forward.

Pjanic only started six La Liga matches for the Catalan giants last season following his arrival from Juventus, while Umtiti was also handed just six starts in Spain's top flight in 2020-21.

Umtiti still has two years left to run on his contract at Camp Nou, while Pjanic has a deal with the club until June 2024, having penned a four-year contract upon his arrival.

However, according to Goal, Barcelona want to sit down with both players and potentially come to an agreement over a compensation package to allow them to leave on free transfers this summer.

The report claims that the La Liga giants are desperate to free up space in their budget to help them come to an agreement with Lionel Messi over a new contract.

Umtiti has previously been linked with the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal, while Tottenham Hotspur have recently been credited with an interest in Pjanic.