BVB right-back Thomas Meunier has revealed that Spanish giants Barcelona wanted to sign him in the January transfer window. However, Borussia Dortmund were not interested in letting him leave and therefore, the move eventually broke down.
The Blaugarana were very active in the winter transfer window this time around. They completed a flurry of signings. The Catalans brought back former full-back Dani Alves for a free, signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the deadline day from Arsenal for free as well.
They paid 55 million euros to Manchester City for the services of Ferran Torres and also completed a six-month loan deal for Wolves’ Adama Traore.
The winter signings have all played their roles extremely well and have fit in Xavi’s system to perfection. This has allowed Barcelona to compete at a very high level, which was evident in the recent 0-4 drubbing of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Besides the attacking signings, Barca also wanted to reinforce their defence in January. Several reports suggested that they were looking at Meunier for the full-back and wide back role. However, no deal came to fruition.
The Belgian international has now come out and spoken about how Barcelona had wanted to sign him in January. He mentioned that he fit the parameters that Barcelona were looking for but Borussia intervened quickly.
“It could have been done… Barcelona were looking for a reliable right-back, someone who was physically strong, complete and who could be dangerous in the attacking zones, for an acceptable price, given their financial situation,”
“I fit that profile, those parameters. I showed it this season too. But when Dortmund called me about the offer they had received from Barcelona, they immediately said: ‘Sorry, you can’t go.’”
he said, as per AS.
Meunier also mentioned that he had even had talks with Barcelona direcotr Jordi Cryuff, who had explained the plan to him. He also shared how a player can hardly say no to clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
“Imagine… Dortmund is already a great club, but Barça… That’s unique. Just like Real Madrid, Bayern and United. In principle, you don’t say ‘no’ to those clubs. Mentally it wasn’t easy. But I understand Dortmund: they hardly needed one week until the end of the market,”
he added.
