No Barcelona deal with Memphis Depay, says Lyon chief Aulas

Olympique Lyonnais on Tuesday poured cold water on reports that its Dutch international forward Memphis Depay is on the brink of a 30-million euro ($35.54 million) move to Barcelona.

Dutch media reported on Tuesday that the Catalan club, where former Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman recently took over, was on the brink of signing the 26-year-old striker.

Yet Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said the Spanish giant had told him Depay was too expensive for it.

“The president of Barca (Josep Maria Bartomeu) told me on Sunday that Barca was suffering a lot from the COVID-19 crisis and have no possibility of making an offer,” Aulas tweeted on Tuesday (@JM_Aulas).

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Depay is under contract at Lyon until next year, having joined it from Manchester United three years ago.

He helped the French club to the semifinal of the Champions League last month and scored a hat-trick as Lyon kicked off the new Ligue 1 campaign with a 4-1 home win over Dijon on Aug. 28.