A Saudi club tried to sign €15m Barcelona gem before his explosion under Hansi Flick | OneFootball

In the last few years, the massive investments made in Saudi football have significantly impacted the global footballing structure. With significant backing from their state, Saudi clubs are on the lookout for the best footballing talent in the world, and they have knocked on the doors of FC Barcelona several times.

Only in the last summer transfer window, clubs from the Middle Eastern country showed their interest in Blaugrana players like Raphinha, Vitor Roque, Robert Lewandowski, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, and Inigo Martinez.

Now, a report from SPORT reveals that these were not the only players who received interest from Saudi Arabia, as the midfielder Marc Casado was another Blaugrana player who generated their interest. In fact, one Saudi club was willing to offer up to €8 million for the midfielder, at a time when Casado had not even been a part of the Barcelona first-team.

Luckily for the Blaugranes, this operation did not end up materializing, and Casado ended up renewing with them till 2028. Following that renewal, Casado has gone on to prove his talents at the highest level, as he has been a highly trusted player for Flick and has been a starter for him for the last few games, including the high-profile games against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

But the €15m-rated Spaniard was not always expected to be a starter at Barcelona. In the last summer transfer window, the Catalans were linked with several midfield pivots, most notably Amadou Onana and Mikel Merino, but were unable to get any of them. Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan also left the club to rejoin Manchester City.

Thus, Flick was forced to rely on academy talent during the pre-season tour of the USA, and the youngster who impressed him the most at that time was Marc Bernal, who was Flick’s starting pivot at the start of the season.

However, he suffered an unfortunate injury, which opened the way for Casado in the starting eleven. But even before he had been able to prove his talents, there was a chance during the summer transfer window that he could have left the club for Saudi Arabia.