Barcelona sporting director Deco has this week provided an insight into the details of the club’s summer pursuit of Inter Milan star Lautaro Martínez.
Frontman Lautaro was for his part one of a whole host of high-profile attackers linked with a potential move to Catalunya’s capital over the last few months.
Amid a search for a replacement for the outbound Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, those in a position of power at the Camp Nou earmarked the Argentine international as one player capable of filling the void.
In the end, talks between the parties did not go beyond the exploratory stage, with Barcelona having instead brought in Gabriel Jesus in a cut-price deal from Arsenal.
And as alluded to above, this week, Deco has revealed precisely why he and his colleagues opted not to take their initial interest in Lautaro any further. In quotes cited by journalist Fabrizio Romano, Barca’s transfer chief explained:
“Lautaro is a symbol of Inter, and we have tremendous respect for that. For me, he’s a fantastic, exceptional player.
“He’s an icon, a legend of Inter, and even today, he’s their captain. Out of respect for the player and the club, when Inter let us know they weren’t willing to negotiate, we stopped pushing and didn’t discuss it further.
“We always try to do things the right way and transparently. It’s normal for the press to speculate; that’s part of the job. But between clubs, it’s important to be very clear on these kinds of matters.
“It’s true that at one point, among the strikers we were evaluating and considering capable of playing for Barça, Lautaro was one of the players we were following.
“But when our president spoke with Inter’s leadership, and they clearly told him the player wasn’t for sale, we respected their decision and didn’t bring it up again.
“We never had the slightest contact with Lautaro, nor with his agent. That said, it’s also true that he’s a player we admired greatly, and still admire today. Personally, I’m a big fan of Lautaro.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
