According to reports, José Vicente Sánchez, former Barcelona coach, ahead of the crucial UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg between the Blaugrana and Inter Milan, claimed that Lautaro Martinez was close to joining Barcelona in the summer of 2019.

Sánchez told Tuttosport: “Lautaro Martinez is a great striker. I must say that in 2019, I witnessed firsthand that he was on the verge of signing for Barcelona, but it didn’t happen, and he ended up joining Inter instead.

I don’t think there’s much to say about Lautaro and Inter, as they were playing at an extraordinary level until recently. Their last outstanding performance was against Bayern Munich.

Perhaps Bayern Munich is not at its best right now, but they are still a big team. What surprised me was Inter’s recent dip in form, suffering heavy defeats. However, it’s clear to me that Inter is a very dangerous team. They have players who can exploit Barcelona’s weaknesses, and one of them is Lautaro Martinez—I just hope he doesn’t have a good day tomorrow.”