Former Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has opened up on some of the biggest transfer decisions made during his time at the club, revealing that a mystery team once tried to trigger Lionel Messi’s €400 million release clause.
Speaking in a recent interview, Bartomeu disclosed that Barcelona reacted by increasing Messi’s release clause to €700 million in order to protect the Argentine superstar from being lured away.
“There was a team that wanted to pay €400 million for Leo Messi, which was the value of his release clause… so we raised it to 700 million euros. I don’t want to name names, but it wasn’t Man City,” Bartomeu said.
The former Barça chief also revisited Neymar’s shocking departure to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, admitting the club never wanted the Brazilian forward to leave Camp Nou.
“Neymar’s departure was a shock for the club, we didn’t want him to leave,” he explained.
Following Neymar’s exit, Bartomeu said Barcelona moved quickly in search of a replacement and considered both Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.
“There was an offer we made for Mbappé and another offer for Dembélé. The coaching staff preferred Dembélé,” he revealed.
Bartomeu also defended Dembélé’s career despite criticism surrounding his time in Spain, pointing out that the French winger eventually achieved football’s highest individual honour elsewhere.
“Did the signing of Dembélé fail? Ousmane Dembélé won the Ballon d’Or, but outside Barça,” he added.
