Bayern Munich winger opens up about failed move to Barcelona: “There was a possibility” | OneFootball

Bayern Munich winger Bryan Zaragoza recently shared that he had discussions with Barcelona before deciding to join the Bundesliga team.

It must be noted that Zaragoza made his move to Bayern Munich from Granada last January in a deal worth €17 million.

Despite this significant transfer, his time on the field has been quite limited. Over the past six months, he has played only 171 minutes across seven games.

The story took an interesting turn when Thomas Tuchel quickly lost confidence in Zaragoza. This lack of playing time and trust from the manager is significant because it paints a picture of a challenging start for Zaragoza in his new team.

Despite this rough beginning, Zaragoza opened up about his past interactions with Barcelona, revealing that he was indeed in touch with the Catalan team.

“There was a possibility but nothing was finalized, but what appeared in the press was reality. Before signing with Bayern there were conversations, I spoke with Barça,” said the winger as reported by Mundo Deportivo.

Bayern liked him and he liked Bayern

Bryan Zaragoza averaged just over 24 minutes per match at Bayern Munich last season. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

When Zaragoza met with Thomas Tuchel, he was told that both the manager and the team had a high opinion of him.

This positive feedback from Bayern Munich played a crucial role in his decision to leave Spain for Germany.

The prospect of being valued and needed by a top club like Bayern Munich was likely very appealing to Zaragoza, influencing his choice to join them over potentially waiting for Barcelona to finalize an offer.

“Before signing, I spoke with the coach, he told me that he loved me. I went two weeks before signing to talk to Tuchel and I left the meeting amazed, it was a bet from the club and the coach, it went hand in hand,” he explained.

The move did not work out for anyone involved as Zaragoza failed to a place in the first team and the situation is likely to persist even next season.