Barcelona make transfer decision on €100m Chelsea target

Barcelona have been put off by the €100m (£85.9m) asking price for Benfica's sought-after striker Vangelis Pavlidis, a report in Portugal has claimed.

Less than 12 months ago, Pavlidis cost Benfica just €18m (£15.5m) when he arrived from AZ Alkmaar. The 26-year-old was riding high after the most prolific campaign of his career and has continued to routinely rattle the back of the net this term.

Pavlidis is Benfica's leading scorer as they are locked in a devilishly tight title race, trailing Sporting CP on goal difference alone with just six matches remaining. He boasts seven Champions League goals and netted twice in a famous victory for Greece over England in October.

Such prolific form has seen Chelsea linked with a move for the Thessaloniki-born forward. Barcelona were also thought to be interested in Pavlidis until they learned of the €100m release clause in his contract, according to A Bola.

The Portuguese report also lists Everton, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United as interested parties. These Premier League clubs are billed as being able to match Pavlidis' wage demands, although it remains to be seen whether any would stretch to his lofty asking price.

This summer's Club World Cup also complicates any deal. Benfica find themselves in a group with New Zealand outfit Auckland City, Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and begin the first phase against Argentine giants Boca Juniors on 16 June.

FIFA have opened a separate transfer window before the competition gets underway but Benfica will surely be reluctant to lose their star centre-forward at that early stage of the summer.

Pavlidis, for his part, is likely to follow the money. In an interview with the Business Review Greece podcast last summer, the pragmatic forward admitted that he will always accept "the best job offer". "Football has become a business game," he continued. "Teams are companies. Footballers have also become companies. And everyone tries to improve in football, become more known, and earn money. Because in the end, for the football player, this is a job."

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