Barcelona insist Marco Verratti was targeted in raid on PSG as Nou Camp chiefs attempt to defend dismal transfer window
Barca missed out on a number of top targets including Philippe Coutinho and also ended up losing key man Neymar to PSG
BARCELONA insist they attempted to sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Marco Verratti following criticism of their dealings over the summer.
Despite a new boss arriving in the form of Ernesto Valverde, Barca failed to replicate that excitement in the transfer market.
They lost global icon Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record £198million deal.
But Barca failed to bring in Coutinho from Liverpool as the Brazilian’s replacement in a high-profile saga.
And Nou Camp chiefs were instead forced to gamble £135m on Borussia Dortmund winger Ousmane Dembele, who’s enjoyed just one season of football at the highest level.
There were also failed moves for centre-back Inigo Martinez and midfielder Jean-Michael Seri, with reports also claiming of attempts for Angel Di Maria and Lorenzo Insigne on deadline day.
Instead, in came Tottenham flop Paulinho and former youngster Gerard Deulofeu, as well as right-back Nelson Semedo.
But missing out on Verratti could prove to be the most costly failure, with director Robert Fernandez confirming the attempt.
He said: “It’s not true that we didn’t go for Verratti. I personally spoke with Unai Emery and he knows that he’s a player we wanted.
“Inigo and Seri are two players we considered, like many others, but we decided that it was best not to sign them.
“We worked on bringing in some players last night (deadline day), but it wasn’t possible. We have to think about work, it’s my duty.”