Jean-Michael Seri reveals he is heartbroken after ‘dream’ Barcelona move fell through — but insists PSG were not involved
Cynics suggested Ligue 1 giants tried to raise price for central midfielder as revenge for acrimonious deal to sign Neymar
JEAN-MICHAEL SERI has revealed his sadness at the fact his "dream move" to Barcelona will no longer happen.
The Ivory Coast midfielder — who has been labelled by many as the new Xavi — looked set to leave Nice for the Nou Camp.
However, the two parties failed to agree a deal and the move fell through.
When asked how the situation made him feel, Seri told to : "Bad. Really bad.
"I won't lie to, this has seriously affected me.
"For me, football has always been a party, something to enjoy.
"I couldn't play this weekend for Nice as my head wasn't in football.
"My dream was to play for Barcelona, but that's been taken away from me — and it feels terrible."
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There are various unconfirmed reports as to exactly why the negotiations came to halt.
It is understood the two parties failed to agree a fee — with cynics even suggesting Paris Saint-Germain entered the discussions just to drive up the price for Barcelona.
But even Seri, 26, insists it is just that the two sides failed to agree terms.
He added: "The cause of the rupture is due to the fact conversations between the two clubs went from bad to worse.
"From my understanding, it was financial reasons which prevented me from leaving.
"I tried to stay away from the negotiations because we had an important match against Napoli [in the Champions League].
"But it is impossible to forget that Barca are negotiating to sign me."
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