Barcelona tried to sign Brazilian defender from Premier League club in the summer – report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona ended the summer transfer window with only two new signings for the senior team in Dani Olmo, who arrived from RB Leipzig, and Pau Victor, who was signed on a permanent deal from Girona.

Barcelona’s sporting management, led by director Deco, had several other targets on their agenda but the club’s Financial Fair Play situation meant it was impossible to sign any more new players.

As has already been reported, one of the players that Deco wanted to bring in was Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka. But the FFP situation and the emergence of Marc Bernal and Marc Casado put an end to that operation.

Now, it has emerged that the Barça director had set his sights on another player from the Premier League in the summer.

Barcelona wanted Diego Carlos from Aston Villa

Indeed, as per SPORT, Barcelona looked into the possibility of signing Diego Carlos from Aston Villa in the summer of last year.

At the end of August, during Hansi Flick’s first few weeks as coach, he requested Deco to make an effort to acquire an experienced centre-back to strengthen the defensive line.

Barcelona wanted Diego Carlos in the summer. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

After all, Ronald Araujo was injured while playing for Uruguay in the Copa America and out until late 2024, while Andreas Christensen was suffering from an Achilles tendon injury that would eventually require surgery.

Deco quickly got to work. The Barcelona director prioritised players who were familiar with La Liga to speed up their adaptation, and who, due to financial restrictions, would need to arrive on loan until the end of the season with no option to buy.

And, Carlos, formerly of Sevilla, was one of the names that registered on Deco and Barça’s radars.

There were discussions with the Brazilian international’s camp, and he was excited about the possibility of joining Barcelona. However, the deal came to a halt when the club realised it would not have the financial margin to register the player.

The Blaugrana then turned their attention to Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen, but that operation fell through as well, although he can sign for the club later this year as a free agent.

As for Carlos, he has gone from potentially joining Flick’s Barcelona to now being close to signing for Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the current window.