Barcelona hoping to increase Sergi Roberto's buyout clause to €400m with contract renewal

Barcelona are hoping to raise Sergi Roberto's buyout clause to an eye-watering €400m (£353.4m, $466m) as they seek to tie the versatile midfielder down to a new contract amid apparent interest from Juventus, according to the latest reports from Spain.

La Masia graduate Sergi Roberto's current deal is due to expire in June 2019 and the 25-year-old's camp are said to be unhappy with an opening renewal offer due to the unsatisfactory financial terms involved.

Catalan publication Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona's written proposal to agent Josep Maria Orobitg was for five years and would have seen Roberto's current €40m buyout clause multiplied by 10.

That is the same figure inserted into Ousmane Dembele's contract following his €147m transfer from Borussia Dortmund in August.

Barcelona, who have yet to officially confirm Lionel Messi's new deal, lost the services of Neymar earlier in the summer after wealthy Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain were able to successfully trigger the Brazilian's €222m release clause. The Blaugrana are evidently eager to ensure that such an episode is not repeated again in the future.

Mundo Deportivo additionally state that the two parties are expected to hold a face-to-face meeting next week, with Barcelona hopeful of reaching an agreement with Sergi Roberto before Christmas. However, it is certainly possible that the saga could rumble on into the New Year if a compromise cannot be found with regards to a notable increase in salary.

Premier League trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea were all believed to have chased a deal for Sergi Roberto over the summer, while Marca suggest that reigning Serie A champions Juventus are also monitoring the situation and could look to take advantage of his current contract stand-off.

Sergi Roberto has made 168 senior appearances for Barcelona to date and spent the majority of Luis Enrique's final campaign at the helm at right-back following the departure of Dani Alves and the long-term absence of Aleix Vidal.

The three-cap Spanish international featured 16 times across all competitions - again, predominantly as a right-back - under new boss Ernesto Valverde before being ruled out for five weeks as the result of a hamstring strain in his right leg suffered during the goalless Champions League Group D draw with Olympiacos in Piraeus last month.