Fermín López has rebuffed repeated links of a Premier League move away from Barcelona with a declaration of love for the club despite the recent controversy he caused on social media.
Chelsea and Manchester United have both been widely credited with spurious interest in the attacking midfielder. While reluctant to part ways with their academy graduate, Barcelona were reportedly prepared to cash in on the frequent substitute should any suitor stump up his asking price of €70 million (£60.7 million, $81.5 million).
It remains to be seen if one of the Premier League pair will seriously test Barcelona’s resolve, but Fermín made his position abundantly clear after starring in the club’s final friendly of preseason.
“I want to stay here,” the 22-year-old bluntly outlined. “It’s my dream and I will stay, I’m happy to help the team. Many things have been said, but I am going to continue defending these colors and working as hard as anyone else, so that the Catalans are calm.”
Fermín ended the treble-winning 2024–25 campaign with a respectable eight goals and nine assists across all competitions, racking up a healthy 46 appearances. However, more than half of those outings began on the bench, with Hansi Flick routinely turning to the tigerish midfielder if he wanted to rest any of Dani Olmo, Raphinha or Lamine Yamal.
While naturally keen on playing as many minutes as possible, Fermín appears to have accepted his place in Barcelona’s hierarchy. The youngster did, however, prompt some eyebrows to raise skyward when he posted a strongly worded message on social media last week.
“Bad people never win, nor those who look the other way, nor those who make betrayal their way of life and cowardice their banner,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s only a matter of time.”
The message was swiftly deleted, allowing rampant speculation to fill the void.
Some had theorized that Fermín was referencing the club’s stern treatment of Marc-André ter Stegen, who was stripped of the captain’s armband on the same day as his teammate’s message. The goalkeeper has since been reappointed as skipper. “Marc is the first captain, we respect him a lot, what has happened are external things,” was all Fermín would offer when quizzed on the topic.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona Star Responds to Chelsea, Man Utd Transfer Interest.