In the last game of the season at the RCDE Stadium, against Valencia, the crowd chanted Melendo’s name when Luis Blanco decided to substitute him well into the second half. The midfielder, who has been at the club since he was five years old, responded with applause. It was a farewell image, although nothing can be taken for granted because the negotiations between Sant Adrià and the perico club have not seen their last chapter. His contract ends on June 30, there are still six weeks left. “I hope that Melendo will be here for many years,” said Luis Blanco.
The distance between Espanyol and Melendo is right now around 500,000 euros. With an old contract, renewed both in 2016 and 2017, the player has a salary that does not reach one million euros. While the footballer asks that these emoluments amount to just over 1.5 millionthe blue and white entity’s proposal barely exceeds one million, so both should give up a part for this renewal to be carried out.
Melendo is at the base of Espanyol’s salary pyramid despite being the third player to accumulate the most seasons in the first team since he made his debut in November 2016. Other players who have had less participation and incidence than the one from Sant Adrià are or have been above them for several campaigns. The player, who is already 24 years old (25 in August) and has 160 official matches with the first team, wants to move up in one of the most important contracts of his career.
Meanwhile, Melendo has been receiving other proposals that he is analyzing. One of them, already known, is the Almeria by Joan Francesc Ferrer, Rubi, the coach who best understood the profile of the often midfielder during his time at Espanyol. The Andalusian club can be a First team this weekend directly, depends on himself. Apart from Almería, other First entities have been interested in the player, while he has also received calls from other leagues.
Especially the italian and turkish league. The first of them can fit into its characteristics, due to the type of game that has been developed in Italy in recent years. He has also received some interest from clubs in Portugal, where the most technical players are prioritized.although none of these proposals is as firm as that of Almería and Espanyol, which is still half a million away, waiting for the offer to turn now with Domingo Catoira in the sports management.