Inter Transfer Market: Barcelona’s Interest in Lautaro Martinez Resurfaces

“Lautaro Martinez? We really tried to sign him, and we still like him.” A few simple words from Barcelona’s sporting director, former Portuguese playmaker Deco, were enough to set off alarm bells among Inter fans: even without any intention—at least for now—of entering into direct negotiations with the player and his representatives, Barça is keeping a close eye on the situation to gauge the room for maneuver with Inter in order to sign the Argentine in the not-too-distant future.

The Blaugrana executive confirmed to Sportitalia his interest in Lautaro Martínez, though he emphasized that this summer’s attempt came to an immediate halt when Inter closed the door. “We’re talking about an extraordinary player, Inter’s captain and icon. When they told us he was not for sale, we chose to take a step back out of respect not only for Inter but also for the player himself.”

Deco then clarified that negotiations never reached an advanced stage: “We often read reports that do not correspond to reality. Lautaro is certainly among the forwards we evaluated based on his qualities, but after discussions between the two clubs, we did not proceed any further. We had no contact with either him or his agent.”

“We’ve been following him closely, and he remains a player we hold in high regard, but as far as what happened this summer is concerned, the matter was closed the moment Inter made it clear they didn’t want to negotiate,” Barcelona’s sporting director concluded.