Barcelona is putting together a strategy to bring in Thiago Silva, which looks to be a very complicated operation because neither the directors of PSG nor the team's coach are prepared to lose such an important player. Barcelona knows that the player's pay packet is not an obstacle, even if his salary currently exceeds the team's salary structure.

The problem is whether the clubs can find an agreement, and then whether Sheikh Nasser Al-Khelaifi decides to entertain negotiations with Barcelona. Rosell will need to pull some strings in Qatar, which is Barcelona's main sponsor through the Qatar Foundation, a company controlled by the country's government that also has a hold of PSG.

Once they get round these barriers, it's just a question of setting the price. There is talk of an initial €32 million, although Barcelona will undoubtedly have to cough up quite a bit more if the defender is to become an 'Azulgrana'. With that transfer fee PSG would pay off the initial investment in the player, but the French club would hope to also make some profit from the operation after the Brazilian's stellar season.

On a sporting level, it would be a tough blow for PSG, with the club having also seen Carlo Ancelotti move to Real Madrid in recent days. If Al-Khelaifi's idea is to make PSG one of Europe's big clubs, he can't go around losing his biggest assets right, left and centre. Moreover, Laurent Blanc, the club's new manager, is none too keen on losing Thiago Silva.