Real Madrid midfielder Marco Asensio has reportedly put pen to paper on a four-year preliminary contract with the club's bitter rivals Barcelona.
Asensio's current deal at the Bernabeu expires at the end of this season, and he looks increasingly likely to end his nine-year stay at the club next summer as a result.
A number of Europe's top clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and AC Milan, have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old, who will be able to discuss terms with foreign clubs over a free transfer from January.
However, rumours of a switch to Barcelona have grown in recent weeks, and Asensio himself recently refused to rule out the prospect of making the move between rivals.
Catalan radio station RAC1 has now gone further and claims that a preliminary agreement has been reached between Asensio and Barcelona over a four-year deal starting in the summer of 2023.
Dealings between the two bitter rivals are rare, with Javier Saviola the last such player to make the direct switch in 2007 after his Barcelona contract expired.
Luis Figo's hugely controversial move to the Bernabeu is arguably the highest-profile example of a player swapping clubs, while Luis Enrique is one of few high-profile names to have joined Barcelona from Real Madrid rather than the other way around.
Asensio has played almost 250 games for Los Blancos since making his debut in 2016, winning three La Liga titles, three Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups in that time.
However, he has fallen out of favour under a number of managers in recent years, and has made only four appearances totalling just 47 minutes so far this season.
Barcelona's financial woes in recent times have forced them to focus on bringing in free transfers, and should they sign Asensio then he could follow the likes of Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso in joining the club for nothing. body check tags ::
