Celta Vigo president admits Real Madrid-linked Gabri Veiga is set to leave

Celta Vigo president Carlos Mourino has admitted that his club will be powerless to prevent Gabri Veiga from leaving the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos during this summer’s transfer window.

The 20-year-old has been in impressive form for his La Liga team during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring nine goals and registering three assists in 25 appearances in Spain’s top flight.

Veiga has a contract with Celta until June 2026, but there is a release clause of €40m (£35.4m) in his current deal, which a number of big-name clubs are said to be prepared to activate.

Arsenal and Manchester United are believed to lead the Premier League interest, while Real Madrid are currently being heavily linked with the Spaniard.

Mourino has insisted that Celta ‘do not want to sell’ the youngster, but the buy-out fee in his deal means that he is set to leave the Spanish club ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

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“We don’t want to sell Gabri Veiga, but they are going to buy him from us. And we can’t do anything there,” Mundo Deportivo quotes Mourino as saying.

“We know some of his offers and it is impossible to reach them. Gabri is a Celta player, he has that feeling. After the game with Espanyol, he went to see Celta B.”

Mourino has said that four Premier League clubs “have asked” about Veiga, but he denied that Real Madrid had been in touch despite the recent speculation.

“There are several teams behind Gabri. Real Madrid? They haven’t asked us, we don’t know if they will have called the player. Of the top 10 in the Premier League, four have asked about him,” he added.

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“For us, and to make it clear, he is not for sale. We have nothing to negotiate with anyone. We refer [interested clubs] to the [release] clause. The decision is Gabri’s, he will play wherever he wants.”

A recent report claimed that Real Madrid were not prepared to meet Veiga’s release clause upfront, instead wanting to pay €25m (£22.1m) this summer with a further €15m (£12.3m) in add-ons.

However, Mourino has insisted that there will be no negotiations when it comes to the fee, with Celta wanting his full release clause in order to let him depart.

Veiga came through the youth system at Celta, and he has represented the Sky Blues on 64 occasions in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and registering one assist in the process.

The midfielder, who is allegedly leaning towards a move to Real Madrid, is yet to make his senior debut for Spain but has featured for his national side at Under-21 level.

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