Former Chelsea attacker Oscar confirms Barcelona approach

Shanghai Port attacker Oscar has revealed that Barcelona have made an approach to sign him.

The 30-year-old moved to China from Chelsea in 2017 and has made 170 appearances for his current side in all competitions, contributing 50 goals and registering 93 assists in the process.

Oscar is believed to be the fifth-highest paid player in world football but would allegedly be willing to take a pay cut in order to secure a short-term move to Barcelona.

The playmaker has confirmed that Xavi's side have been in touch with his agent, but there are currently no official discussions, with the Catalan outfit needing to move more players on before they can make additions.

"Yes, this came to my knowledge," Oscar told TNT Sports. "Barcelona reached out to my agent to know about this possibility, they knew football in China will stop until March. So maybe, but Barca is facing a difficult time now.

"I was told about this interest, I guess they're still trying to figure something out. Barca has this issue about registering new signings and they'd still need to sort talks with my club.

"They would want for me to join until the end of the season. They're still talking, it's ongoing, but there's this problem with the new signings – I guess Dani Alves has faced some.

"It's nice to see a great club interested in you. We didn't have any talks so far, there's no point doing that if Barcelona can't register new players right now. Barca is trying to sort their end out, then maybe I'll talk to my agent so we can arrange something.

"It'd be an incredible opportunity for me, for Barcelona too. I'm in great form here, it would be great for my career. I suppose Barca would also appreciate it as I'm now more experienced, mature and I know they have a lot of youngsters right now. It could work out for everybody. I'd be happy if things work out, but I still have a contract. Shanghai help me a lot so I have no complaints."

Oscar is thought to be keen to join a European club this month in the hope that he could still secure a spot in the Brazil squad for the 2022 World Cup.