FC Barcelona tried to hijack transfer deal for Spanish Midfielder

FC Barcelona walked away with two key signings this summer in Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix, at least temporarily. Considering the financial situation at the club, the only permanent deal for the first team revolved around Oriol Romeu.

The real focus was tying down their starts to contract extensions, and that work is set to continue as the management team continues negotiations with Frenkie de Jong over a new deal.

When you cover a team like Barcelona, you need to try and work through the noise. The current La Liga champions are linked to a number of players, some are legitimate, and many are courtesy of agents trying to strengthen their player’s bargaining position.

Sergi Altimira who spent 7 years in the Barcelona academy was a player we heard very little about, but apparently Barca made an attempt to bring him back to the club in August, before the 21-year-old made a move to Real Betis.

FC Barcelona attempted to hijack Real Betis’s deal for Sergi Altimira

According to football insider Fabrizio Romano, Former sporting director Mateu Alemany attempted to trigger Altimira’s €2 million release clause, but their attempt came too late.

Despite Barcelona’s interest, the defensive midfielder elected to sign for Real Betis. The issue for Barca revolved around the negotiations being at an advanced stage by the time the Catalan club entered the picture.

Interestingly, Altimira signed with Getafe in July of this year but never made a professional appearance for the club, instead Real Betis triggered his clause in August, and he signed a 5-year deal.

Unfortunately for Altimira, he’s been unable to break through into the starting lineup at Betis and has played just over 90 minutes in three games.

There’s a chance that Alemany was looking at Altimira as the potential long-term replacement for Oriol Romeu, who is coming to the end of his career.