Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu has revealed that he wants to stay with the La Liga champions of the summer according to Sport.
Per the source, Jeremy is aware that his position at the club could be under jeopardy following the arrival of defenders Umtiti and Digne but he revealed he is ready to stay and fight for his place in the team.
“Umtiti and Digne are my friends and team-mates. It’s true they are players who play in my position, but it will not be a problem,” Mathieu said.
Sport recently reported that Turkish champions Besiktas and Premier League giants Liverpool have targeted the French defender.
The report claims that Barcelona want €7 million for Mathieu and that Liverpool like Besiktas are working on strengthening their defence this summer following a number of departures and injuries.
Mathieu confirmed that he did receive an offer from Besiktas but that he turned the Black Eagles down.
“It’s true there was contact but I told the president that I was very happy here and that my intention was to continue,” he added.
“Luis Enrique already knows that I prefer to play as a centre-back, but in football you never know what could happen.”
Of Umtiti, Mathieu said: “He had a great Euro 2016, winning the battle against Rami”.
Besiktas president Fikret Orman also recently confirmed interest in the experienced defender but also underlined that the club have other defensive targets as well.
“Mathieu is an interesting player,” Orman stated in a recent press conference, “He’s had an interesting career but also has a contract with Barça [until June 2018].
“Until September 2 the transfer market remains open. We’re not interested in just one player, there are other alternatives.”
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