Barcelona were reportedly interested in a potential transfer deal for Liverpool forward Sadio Mane last summer.
According to journalist Sique Rodriguez on SER Catalunya, as translated by Fichajes, Barcelona took a strong interest in signing Mane, with Lionel Messi supposedly a fan of the Senegal international.
There’s no doubt that Mane has been a world class performer in his time at Anfield, but you’d think Barcelona might be a bit more cautious about pursuing such a deal again after getting so badly burned when they signed Philippe Coutinho from the Reds.
As noted by BBC Sport‘s report on the deal at the time, Coutinho cost Barca a staggering £142million in total, and though it seemed like a good idea at the time, it didn’t work out for the Brazil international at the Nou Camp.
Coutinho never showed the kind of form that made him such a hit at Liverpool in his time with Barcelona, and perhaps Mane would have been another surprise flop.
We’ll never know now, and LFC fans will certainly just be relieved that they kept hold of the important 29-year-old.
Liverpool fans will hope Barcelona don’t come back for more of their star players again, even if in Coutinho’s case it allowed them to spend his transfer fee on big signings like Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Fabinho.