A report this week suggests that Barcelona turned down the opportunity to sign Geoffrey Kondogbia in 2011, before he Sevilla a year later.
Sevilla paid €4m for half Kondogbia’s playing rights in last summer and after an impressive debut season at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, he is now valued at close to his €20m buyout clause.
The likes of Bayern Munich, Milan, Inter, Juventus and Real Madrid have all been linked with the 20-year-old, who could be sold by his club as they look to service a €50m debt.
Barcelona are also said to be tracking the Frenchman, but only after having reportedly turned down a previous opportunity to sign the player, back in November 2011.
Then, Mundo Deportivo allege that Dani Alves’ former agent Joaquin Macanas offered Kondogbia to Barca at a ‘bargain price’, only for the Catalans to reject the signing.
Macanas’ involvement was apparently key in Sevilla then picking up the player the following summer.