Martin Braithwaite considering offers from MLS & Middle East

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Martin Braithwaite considering offers from MLS & Middle East

FC Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite is considering potential moves to Major League Soccer and the Middle East, 90min understands.

Braithwaite has two years remaining on his current Barcelona deal but it's thought the club want the 31-year-old to leave much sooner than that - either securing a loan transfer this summer or paying the rest of his contract to get him off the books.

Should he leave Barça, 90min understands Braithwaite will have options in both the Middle East and Major League Soccer to choose from. The striker is understood to be keen on the latter and was recently pictured with his family on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Braithwaite also owns a US property business, NYCE Companies, based in New York.

At Barcelona, Braithwaite is thought to earn north of $5m per year, which would place him in the top four highest-paid players in Major League Soccer at present, behind just Gonzalo Higuain ($5.8m), Chicharito ($6m), and Xherdan Shaqiri ($8.2m) per MLSPA figures. With that in mind, the forward would almost certainly command a Designated Player spot on an MLS roster.

Braithwaite was a shock signing for Barcelona from Leganes in 2020 amid an injury crisis at Camp Nou. The striker has since scored 10 goals in 58 appearances at the club, winning the 2020/21 Copa del Rey title. Braithwaite also counts Middlesbrough, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Esbjerg fB as his former clubs, scoring 95 goals in 406 games at club level.

At international level, Braithwaite has 60 caps for Denmark, scoring 10 goals - including once against Wales at Euro 2020, where the Red and Whites went all the way to the semi-finals.