Barca terminates Braithwaite contract, while Aubameyang moves to Chelsea

Barcelona have terminated the contract of Danish forward Martin Braithwaite on Thursday in mutual agreement with the striker set to join Espanyol.

Martin Braithwaite joined the Blaugrana as an emergency signing in February 2020 from Leganes. The player still has two years left on his Barcelona contract but has instead agreed on a three-year contract with Espanyol.

The striker played 58 matches for Barcelona and initially rejected a pay cut but may now make his Espanyol debut against Athletic Bilbao this weekend after Barcelona released a statement to reveal his exit.

“FC Barcelona and the player Martin Braithwaite have reached an agreement for the release of the contract that the player had with the Club until the end of the 2023/24 season. FC Barcelona publicly expresses its gratitude to Braithwaite for his commitment and dedication and wishes him the best of luck and success in the future.” The statement read.

The 31-year-old Denmark International has featured for a couple of sides in England and France with Middlesbrough, Bordeaux, and Toulouse.

Meanwhile, Braithwaite isn’t the only striker leaving they can know this Thursday as Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also moved back to the Premier League with Chelsea.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker will rejoin his former manager Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea and will also stage a return to the Premier League, where he initially played with the Blues rival on the other side in North London.

Aubameyang played for Arsenal from 2018 to 2022, playing 128 times and scoring 68 goals.

Meanwhile, in the La Liga games for this weekend, the league leaders and the only two teams that have managed to keep the 100% in the top flight this season, Real Madrid and Real Betis, will go head-to-head at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, Sevilla will host Barcelona, but first Celta Vigo will play Cadiz on Friday.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu