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Renowned football agent Josep Maria Minguella has claimed on the TV program “Va de Barça” that Barcelona had a chance to sign Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappe in the summer of 2017. The Blaugrana instead chose his compatriot and Borussia Dortmund star Ousmane Dembele as he presumably fitted the Catalan giants' system better.
Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe remains at the top of Real Madrid’s wishlist (via Marca) and is expected to join them for free this summer. Los Blancos supposedly offered €200million for his services last summer, but PSG turned down the amount to keep him for one more season.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have rarely been linked with Mbappe. However, if Minguella’s claim is to be believed, the club came mighty close to signing him from Monaco in 2017.
Speaking on “Va de Barça,” the journalist, who is supposedly close to the Blaugrana, said (via Sport):
“Four years ago, Barça had Mbappé and Dembélé on the table. They signed Dembélé, and the coaches decided that for Barça's system it was better. If you trust some technicians, things like this happen.”
Barcelona were under Ernesto Valverde when this move supposedly fell through. The Catalonian outfit ended up spending a whopping €140 million to acquire Dembele’s services from Dortmund in the summer of 2017. Mbappe, on the other hand, moved to Paris Saint-Germain on loan in the same window before joining PSG permanently for €145 million next summer.
Signing Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappe could have turned Barcelona’s fortunes around
The Blaugrana have had to endure a lean few years. They have faced some scarring Champions League eliminations, the latest of which has seen them drop to the Europa League.
Had they signed Real Madrid's prime target Kylian Mbappe back when they had the chance, Barca could have fared considerably better in the premier European competition.
Dembele, of course, has not been a slouch for Barca, but his numbers cannot hold a candle to Mbappe’s. Since 2017, Mbappe has scored 160 goals and provided 81 assists in 2019 appearances for PSG across competitions.
Dembele, who has often struggled with injuries during his time at the Camp Nou, has only scored 32 times and provided 31 assists in 141 games for Barcelona in the same stretch.
