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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Robbie Copeland

Rangers transfer latest as Xavi Simons 'theft' leaves Barcelona reeling and £25m Calvin Bassey price tag explained

Reported Rangers target Xavi Simons is at the centre of a rift between Barcelona and PSG - with the Catalan side still reeling from his "theft" in 2019.

The two European giants were famously at odds last summer when Lionel Messi shook the world by walking out on Barca for a lucrative offer in Paris.

Chairman Joan Laporta was reported to be furious with Messi and his new club, however it seems the bad blood goes deeper than that.

According to a report from Catalan outlet El Nacional , the clubs haven't been on speaking terms since the summer of 2017 when Neymar swapped Catalonia for the French capital.

They say the La Liga side are furious with PSG for repeated "theft" of their players - with Simons given as one example.

Dutch midfielder Simons rejected a new deal at Barcelona in 2019 and instead penned a three-year deal at Parc des Princes - which is now on the verge of expiring.

The 19-year-old was linked with a move to Ibrox back in January but nothing came of it with Gio van Bronckhorst instead signing Aaron Ramsey.

He could move to revive a deal although they may have to move fast as reports suggest he is close to completing a new deal.

In other news, much has been made of Calvin Bassey's valuation and Rangers will likely have offers to field once he returns from Nigeria duty.

But is he worth the £25m that has been touted? Former Ibrox boss Alex McLeish thinks so.

“I would say yes," he said. "In the beginning when I saw Bassey I wasn’t sure if he was a left full-back, wing-back, centre-back and he’s been versatile enough to play in all three positions.

“I really enjoyed his cup final performance and that’s made me see why there’s so much attention being paid to him at the moment.”

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