Mohamed Salah was offered to Barcelona back in 2017 before his move to Liverpool, but club officials opted to fork out on Ousmane Dembele instead.
Liverpool’s Egyptian talisman moved to Anfield from AS Roma for a €40 million fee last year – as per BBC Sport – and went on to score an astonishing 44 goals in his debut season with the club.
According to Don Balon, Barcelona had the chance to sign him for the same amount, however, they had their hearts set on securing the signature of Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund.
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The Frenchman ultimately completed his move to the Camp Nou in a €140 million deal in August of the same year – as BBC Sport reports – but he has not had the instant impact on the pitch in Spain that Salah has had in England.
The 21-year-old has featured prominently for the Blaugrana at the start of the new season, scoring three times in nine La Liga appearances, but his overall record for the club does not make for particularly impressive reading.
Demebele has 34 first appearance under his belt for the La Liga champions to date, during which he has only managed to find the net nine times.
His record is extremely modest for a player who cost the club so much money, meaning he must be considered as a flop up to this point and this latest news concerning Salah may have supporters bemoaning the fact that the club failed to sign him instead.
Liverpool boasts one of the most potent front threes in European football at the moment and Salah is the main hero, cutting in from the right-hand side to cause havoc with his superb dribbling ability and eye for openings in the final third.
Dembele has shown glimpses of his immense talent during his time at Barca and is absolutely capable of becoming a world-class player, it is just a question of whether or not the club is willing to wait for him to develop.
Salah might well have thrived in a team alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, but club boss Ernesto Valverde cannot afford to regret his past decisions.
Dembele’s time will come and as long as he stays in the forefront of his manager’s plans for the foreseeable future, he could start to reach his potential quickly, to drive Barcelona towards more success.