Barcelona 'had agreed a deal with Vinicius Jr'
Paul Macdonald
- Updated: 19 Oct 2021 10:17 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona club captain Gerard Pique has claimed that the club were close to securing a deal for Vinicius Junior, before Real Madrid swooped to steal the Brazilian from under their noses.
Vinicius emerged as a talent coveted by most of Europe as a 17-year-old despite having only played a handful of top-flight games for Flamengo.
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In the end, Real Madrid spent €50m to secure the forward's talents and though his performances have at times drawn criticism, he has been among Los Blancos' best players so far in 2021/22.
But Pique, appearing on Twitch streamer Ibai Llamos' feed, has claimed that Barcelona were also in the running for his signature and were usurped by the rivals at the last moment.
It was already done. Madrid arrived at the last second and offered everything.
- Gerard PiquePique said: "Vinicius was very talented. Do you know that he was about to come to Barca? No, Vinicius was offered double.
"I spoke with him personally before going to Madrid and he acknowledged with me that it was made with Barca. It was done.
"I don’t remember how it was. I was to receive him in the dressing room. It was already done. Madrid arrived at the last second and offered everything."
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Given Barcelona's recent financial issues it's unclear whether Real Madrid's offer to double the striker's salary would have been the wisest move for a club now staring down over €1.3 Billion worth of debt.
In the end, Barcelona opted to sign both Ousmane Dembele and Phillippe Coutinho for a combined €280m.
