Overview

• Chelsea’s opening bid of about €50m was rejected, and reports differ on whether they have raised it toward €65m or are waiting for Lopez to approve talks before making a formal offer.
• Lopez has been offered a major pay rise in London, with Spanish reports citing a potential doubling or tripling of his salary to roughly €15m per year.
• Barcelona maintain a valuation near €70m and say they will not force a departure, though a sale would ease salary-limit pressures and they would promote teenager Dro Fernandez rather than sign a replacement.
• The player was given a short window to decide, canceled a scheduled fan Q&A during the uncertainty, and some local reporting suggests he is leaning to stay.
• Newcastle are also linked and were reported by El Chiringuito as willing to go up to €100m, while Tottenham and Manchester United have been mentioned as suitors.