Barcelona drop Lautaro chase after Inter refuse to sell, says Deco
In the sleek offices of Barcelona’s Camp Nou, sporting director Deco leaned back on a Thursday afternoon and explained why the Catalan giants stopped chasing Inter’s captain, Lautaro Martínez, after the Italian club drew a line in the sand in the transfer market.
The latest transfer window placed Barcelona among its biggest protagonists, as reported by Olé. The club’s hunt for a number 9 culminated in the signing of Gabriel Jesus after negotiations for Julián Álvarez fell through. Jesús arrived as a replacement for the Argentine forward the club had originally targeted.
Interest in Lautaro Martínez
Deco confirmed that Barcelona had genuine interest in Lautaro Martínez and praised him as an Inter icon. “Lautaro is a symbol of Inter and we have enormous respect for that,” he said, adding that the Argentine is a fantastic, exceptional player. Por respect to Inter, Deco explained that when the Nerazzurri made it clear they would not negotiate, Barcelona stopped insisting on a deal.
Deco also revealed that Lautaro was among the forwards evaluated for a possible Barça role, but admitted there was no contact with the player or his representatives. “At one point Lautaro was one of the players we kept following,” he noted, before confirming that “there was not the slightest contact with him nor his people.”
Alternative targets and final squad
Regarding Julián Álvarez, Deco said the idea was always to bring a mobile striker capable of linking play, but Inter refused to sell. “We made an offer, but the club always said they would not sell,” he explained at the Portugal Football Summit. Gabriel Jesus was not originally in Barcelona’s plans, yet became the perfect alternative once the Álvarez deal collapsed – “when we decided Julián was impossible, we started looking for solutions and Gabriel was perfect for us,” he added. Barcelona closed the window with an investment of more than €170 million, bringing in seven new players: Anthony Gordon, Rodri Hernández, Karim Adeyemi, Gabriel Jesus, Jesse Bisiwu, Dominik Livakovic and Joao Cancelo.