Barcelona tried to hijack a third transfer deal from Chelsea, but failed due to lack of funds. The La Liga giants have been hit by financial woes but have still made a number of big moves this summer.
One of those was the £52million signing of Raphinha from Leeds United, a deal that came after Chelsea had agreed a deal for the winger. But Barça was always his first choice and he eventually moved to Camp Nou despite interest from Thomas Tuchel’s men.
Since then, Tuchel has set his sights on Jules Kounde to boost his depleted defensive options, but Barca are once again trying to hijack that offer. They are understood to have tabled a bid of their own, with Kounde’s future far from certain.
There was a third deal that Barca tried to beat Chelsea with: Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The Serie A club’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has revealed that Barca made an offer for the centre-back, but could not raise the money to meet their valuation of the player.
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