“I never understood why we didn’t do more” – Scout reveals Barcelona opted against signing player with €100 million price-tag now

Former FC Barcelona scout Josep Moratalla recently revealed that the Catalan giants were close to signing Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City.

Bellingham joined Dortmund in July 2020 in an initial £25 million deal that made him the most expensive ever 17-year old in club football. He has since established himself as a starter at the club and has exceeded expectations.

The skilful midfielder is skilled both in attack and defense and has a high football IQ that he uses regularly to escape busy situations at the center of the park.

Jude Bellingham has scored thrice and has 9 assists in 23 appearances across all competitions this season. His performances have led to interest from some of Europe’s biggest club, with Liverpool currently reported to be leading the way.

The €100 million youngster could instead have been playing for FC Barcelona, according to Josep Moratella:

“We had Bellingham here before he signed in Dortmund. Now when I see that Liverpool want to pay 100 million euros, I have to laugh. I never understood why we didn't do more of these deals.”

Jude Bellingham is not the only elite youngster that Barcelona could have signed in recent years

The ex-Barcelona scout claimed that multiple other world-class players could have made their way to Camp Nou in addition to Jude Bellingham. This includes Manchester City’s Ferran Torres, who joined the Sky Blues last summer for a €23 million deal. Torres has also been linked with a move to Barcelona under new manager Xavi.

However, the Spanish international eventually chose to move to England:

"I had seen him with the Spanish national team and had written a very positive report long before Manchester City was interested in him. We could have got it for a very low price, not even seven million euros."

Deals for both Jude Bellingham and Ferran Torres could have been highly beneficial for the club. Barcelona have dropped to the Europa League this season and are currently 16 points behind La Liga leaders and bitter rivals Real Madrid.

However, there is little doubt that a move for Kylian Mbappe could have been fate-changing for the club.

Moratella claimed that even Mbappe was under observation by the club’s scouts when he was at Monaco. However, Barcelona failed to make a move in time which eventually led to him moving to PSG. The ex-scout claimed that the financial situation at the club also played a part:

"Apart from Covid, the club’s economic problem has been the management of the past few years. Players were signed to millions who are not at the level of Barça. And now they can no longer keep up with other clubs."

As Moratella claimed, Barcelona’s questionable transfer decisions have all contributed to the club ignoring some potential superstars in recent years.