Barcelona wanted to sign Kylian Mbappe earlier this week
Barcelona wanted to land a new forward before Spain’s transfer deadline passed yesterday.
They had earmarked Liverpool’s Coutinho as their top target, with Mbappe also on their radar.
On Wednesday a deal with Monaco was supposedly agreed and Barca chartered a plane to take Frenchman Mbappe to Spain.
But journalist Duncan Castles says Paris Saint-Germain hijacked the move when they heard of Barca’s intentions.
“Barcelona made a lot of progress. To the extent that on Wednesday people thought the deal was going to go through,” Castles said on The Transfer Window podcast.
“They had prepared a jet to fly him from France to Catalonia for a medical on Thursday morning. However, that kicked PSG into action.
“They stopped that’d deal from happening, secured Mbappe and got an agreement with Monaco in which they would take the player on loan with a compulsory buy option for next season, which shifts the cost of the transfer fee one year on and avoid FFP (sanctions) and announce the transfer.”
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Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho failed to get his move to Barcelona
Barcelona ended the transfer window signing neither Mbappe nor Coutinho.
Liverpool refused a £146m (€160m) offer from the La Liga giants, who had been determined to land the Brazilian.
Barca also failed in a late bid to sign Angel Di Maria from PSG.
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