Barcelona made all the sporting headlines earlier this afternoon when news broke that their appeal against their Fifa-imposed transfer ban had failed, meaning they will not be able to sign any more players until January 2016. We think a forward line of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is pretty dreamy, while a certain Italian legend and a future Real Madrid idol may also have moved to Catalonia only to end up elsewhere by circumstance.
Here, we take a look at 10 Players You Didn’t Know Barcelona Almost Signed:
1. Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon is a Juventus legend. Signed from Parma in 2001, the goalkeeper has helped his side win five Serie A titles, four Supercoppa Italianas and is widely accepted as one of the best keepers in the world. But he could have plied his trade at Barcelona instead.
2. Vincent Kompany
And he nearly ended up in Spain instead. After leaving German side Hamburger SV in 2008, Kompany revealed he came close to joining Barcelona “a few times“. He said: “I have been close to signing for Barca a few times, there were contacts, but recently, officially, I can assure you that there has been nothing that I know of.”
3. Juan Mata
Juan Mata began his career with Barcelona’s fierce rivals Real Madrid, emerging from their academy in 2006 and playing 39 times for their B team. scoring 10 times. However, he never made it big in Spain and didn’t make a single appearance for their senior side. Nevertheless, there was reported interest from Barcelona, and the creative midfielder came close to signing.
4. Kakà
Former AC Milan star Kaka could have been a Barcelona star, had Milan been prepared to agree to a player exchange involving the Brazilian and Ronaldinho. Kaka was at the San Siro at the time plying his trade for the Milanese outfit when former Barcelona president Joan Laporta had dinner with Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi.
5. Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes is a Real Madrid legend, but in 2002, when the striker was at the peak of his powers, he came perilously close to crossing the Clasico divide by signing for Barcelona in highly-complex circumstances. At the time, Real were trying to negotiate a deal with Inter Milan for Ronaldo, but the Italians were keen to include Morientes as part of the deal, knowing they could sell him on to Barca for a profit as the Catalans’ chief Joan Gaspart was known to be keen on the €24 million forward.
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