Blow to Manchester United, Chelsea as key target expresses interest in playing for Barcelona
Aug 22, 2016 at 11:58 AM
According to The Sun, Santos midfielder Gabriel Barbosa is interested in a move to Camp Nou despite being linked with Manchester United and Chelsea in the recent days.
The 19-year old is one of the most sought out players in the market as he has attracted the likes Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid as well as Premier League clubs like Leicester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea.
Barbosa has featured in the Rio Olympics and won the gold medal for Brazil, the first ever gold medal for the football-crazy country in their history.
Speaking after the gold medal match, the 19-year-old said Neymar was “a great player, and playing alongside him would truly be beautiful.”
He added that he would “return to Santos and think about what I should do.”
Despite the interest from Premier League clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester City, it is Barcelona that has the right to first refusal. The Catalan club had got right while signing Neymar back in 2013 as it could prove to be a stumbling block in the transfer for the Brazilian.
Santos president Roma has earlier confirmed the interest of the Premier League duo in an interview to Goal.
‘We had productive conversations,’ Roma told Goal.
‘We didn’t come to buy or sell players, neither in London or Madrid. We came to build relationships.
‘There weren’t offers, but we did talk about partnerships. I talked to Manchester United, Chelsea, and Atletico Madrid.’
It remains to be seen where the player would end up after the sudden turn of events as all the clubs are keen to land him and a decision would be made in the coming few days.