Barcelona handed huge blow by Real Madrid in pursuit of 100m-rated midfielder

FC Barcelona are set to loose out on signing Napoli’s Fabian Ruiz as Real Madrid make the first move….

Napoli’s Fabian Ruiz has been heavily linked with a move back to Spain as La Liga giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid set to battle it out to secure the services of the Spanish midfielder. After signing for Napoli in 2018, the former Real Betis man has become one of the most sought after midfielders in Europe, scoring 7 goals in 40 games in all competitions for Napoli last year.

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Barca are set to make a number of changes to their squad in the upcoming transfer windows and Fabian Ruiz remains one of the prime targets for the Blaugrana. Having already failed to bring him to the club in 2017, Barca are now planning to try and make him their next big money signing. There were talks of a contract extension on the table for Fabian however, Napoli’s willingness to sell the midfielder for the right offer was reflected by Aurelio De Laurentiis when he said the following:

"“I paid €30 million for Fabian and he’s a fantastic player. If some of the European top clubs were to offer €180 million we can start talking about selling him,”"

Eric Abidal, Barcelona’s director of football, even went to Italy to scout the 23 year old in September as Napoli played Leece. With futures of current midfielders Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal extremely uncertain, investing in a talented midfielder will be the Catalan clubs prime focus. Officials at FC Barcelona also have high regards for the player owing to his precise timing and presence, excellent runs and touch of the ball, making him the absolute candidate to improve the clubs midfield, reports El Mundo Deportivo .

However, the Blaugrana are not alone in the race to sign Fabian Ruiz. Real Madrid, who considered signing top rated midfielders like Paul Pogba and Christian Eriksen in the summer, have now set their sights on Ruiz. To add to this, Los Blancos also seem to have made the first move in the race to sign the Napoli midfielder. ESPN report that Real Madrid have held a meeting with the player and his representatives in October and despite being in the early stages of negotiations, the player seems to be in favor of a move to Real Madrid where he would feel more closer to home. Los Blancos would need to pay a sum of €80-100 million for the Spanish midfielder, where the determination of a definite fee will solely depend upon the players performances this season.

This news adds to Barcelona’s woes as the team has been under performing this season and has caused the fans to be infuriated with manager Ernesto Valverde and subsequently want him out of the club. Fabian has already started the season well scoring Napoli’s first goal this year and also having assisted one so far this season.

Will FC Barcelona be able to beat Real Madrid to sign Fabian Ruiz?