DBasia.news – Neymar’s departure in the summer of 2017 has made Barcelona’s performance considered to have decreased. The former Blaugrana director also revealed a fatal mistake in finding a replacement for the Brazilian star.
Neymar left for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after the French giants made up for his release clause worth 222 million euros. The move from the player who dropped out of Santos was initially not regretted by Barcelona.
With that kind of money, Barcelona are confident they can find a replacement at least on the same level as Neymar. The presence of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez has also made the Blaugrana not worry about their sharp front line.
Barcelona then signed Ousmane Dembele as a replacement for Neymar. The French winger was redeemed from Borussia Dortmund for 105 million euros.
Surprisingly, Barcelona was able to obtain Kylian Mbappe as a replacement for Neymar at a slightly lower price. However, the Catalunya club officials prefered Dembele.
In the summer of 2017, Mbappe has indeed become the target of big clubs. Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are the strongest candidates to obtain his services.
This fact was revealed directly by the former Barcelona director, Javier Bordas. The Spanish giant was offered Mbappe by AS Monaco with a tag of 100 million euros.
“When we signed Dembele, Josep Maria Minguella (Barcelona transfer adviser) called to tell us Mbappe was within reach. I spoke to Josep Maria Bartomeu and he told me to take a look,” Bordas told Mundo Deportivo.
“I called Mbappe’s father and he told me that his son would not go to Real Madrid because Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were there and otherwise he can head to Barca because Neymar has left.”
“The Monaco president prefers Mbappe to join Barcelona so as not to strengthen PSG, his direct rival. And it can be done for 100 million euros, “he added.
In the end, Mbappe’s transfer agreement to Barcelona never materialized. The figure of Robert Fernandez as the club’s technical secretary is responsible for this.
Fernandez rejected Mbappe’s recruitment plans on the grounds that the player plays as a center forward. Meanwhile, he considers that Dembele needed to fill the position left by Neymar.
“Robert (Fernandez) prefers Dembele and Pep Segura to support him. “The explanation is that Mbappe plays for himself and Dembele plays for the team and because a winger like Ney has left, Robert prefers a winger over a finisher,” he added.
The decision is perhaps one of Barcelona’s biggest regrets in the transfer market. Moreover, Mbappe has developed into one of the deadliest attackers who can act as a spearhead or to comb from the wings.
Meanwhile, during the same period, Dembele spent more time on the operating table. His name has even started to be considered in the selling list.