Serie A champion Lautaro Martinez says he was ‘very close’ to joining Barcelona | OneFootball

When Ronald Koeman took over as head coach of Barcelona in the summer of 2020, the team had several glaring holes that had to be filled in order to create a team that could regularly fight for titles. Some questionable decision-making on the part of Josep Bartomeu saw Barça sell Luis Suarez without buying a replacement, leaving Martin Braithwaite as the only natural striker in that team.

Bartomeu must’ve thought that the club could close down the deal to bring Lautaro Martinez to the club, but for a club in financial ruins, it was nothing but a dream. Everyone knew Lautaro fancied the move as well. After all, he would get the chance to play with Lionel Messi on two levels.

He admitted the same, in no certain terms while speaking to ESPN Argentina, “It was a nice opportunity for me, I was really very close. But Barcelona had financial problems and the decision was to stay at Inter, and now I have the title.”

He also talked about Inter’s problems on the economic end, saying, “My move to Barcelona wasn’t complete because Inter was having financial problems and I chose to stay. I spoke to Messi when it happened but I think I was right to stay.”

Leading the line alongside Romelu Lukaku for Inter Milan, the Argentine has scored 15 goals and set up his teammates for five of them. These contributions, among others, have helped the Italian outfit lift the Scudetto, putting an end to Juventus’ decade-long dominance in Italy.

As for Barcelona, there is little to no doubt that a player like Lautaro would have solved a huge number of problems. In fact, he might have helped them compete for the UCL as well. Proof of the same is the display against Paris Saint-Germain in the return leg, where a possible comeback was ruled out courtesy of eye-gauging finishing from Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele.

These games also prove that Barcelona must not leave any cracks open for next season if they are to go for the holy trinity again. And a striker, preferably someone like Erling Haaland, could be the key that opens that diamond-plated door.