In a press conference, Barcelona director Albert Soler and Robert Fernandez gave reasons for the club’s failure in the transfer market
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Albert Soler and Robert Fernandez attended a press conference after the conclusion of the transfer window. It was a farce. But some of their points did make sense. They spoke about the failed deals and tried to justify their incompetency,
But they also revealed a revelation about the Philippe Coutinho deal.
"Soler said, “On Friday, after weeks of offers and talks, Liverpool put a price on the player that we wanted [Coutinho]. A price of €200m and we decided we wouldn’t do it. That’s an example of the way football is now. This club and this board will not get involved in that, though.What’s happened in the transfer market this summer has taken us to a totally different model of football which we’re not used to.”"
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It is true that the club could not afford to match Liverpool’s demands. It would have put the club’s long-term financial future at jeopardy. But nonetheless, Barcelona could not sign their other targets and the officials embarrassed themselves while explaining that.
"Soler said, “PSG wanted €70m for Di Maria. We didn’t want to pay that much.”Robert Fernandez talked about the Verratti deal and he said, “It’s not true that we didn’t go for Verratti. I personally spoke with Unai Emery & he knows that he’s a player we wanted.”"
But they completely lost it while trying to justify Neymar’s departure.
"Albert Soler said, “The rumours started at the end of July. Both the President & I didn’t know he’d leave prior to that.I have a message that tells me PSG wanted Neymar on July 19. Luckily, WhatsApps have dates. Not in January or March, in July.The fact that Neymar paid his buyout clause and we had €222m meant everyone knew we had that money. We have tried to manage it with the sporting needs we had, that’s always the priority, but there are lines we can’t cross.”"
But every cloud has a silver lining
But Barcelona did make a few good decisions this summer. The club signed Ousmane Dembélé as a replacement for Neymar and he is worthy of that role in the team. Dembélé has a bright future ahead of him and has the potential to be one of the world’s best players in the future.
The board also sanctioned moves for Portuguese right-back Nélson Semedo and youth product Gerard Deulofeu. Deulofeu will be a useful squad player, fitting in as backups for both Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembélé while Nélson Semedo is a brilliant full-back, if not the best defender.
Next: Top 5 failures of the management this summer
Although the board made several poor decisions like signing Paulinho, every cloud does have a silver lining.