Lindelof’s Agent Reveals Failed Barca Bid
The agent of Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof, Hasan Cetinkaya, has revealed Spanish champions Barcelona made an unsuccessful attempt to sign the Sweden international in the summer.
The 25-year-old, who joined from Benfica in 2017, recently signed a new five-year contract at Old Trafford.
Lindelof popped up on Barcelona’s radar as an alternative to Matthijs de Ligt as the Catalans were in the hunt for a central defender.
De Ligt ultimately ended up at Juventus, leaving Lindelof as Barcelona’s prime target but Manchester United rebuffed their overtures when an approach was made, according to Cetinkaya.
"Lindelof was perhaps Man Utd's best player last season, and there was a lot of interest from clubs that are even better [than United] at the moment," he told Aftonbladet.
"When Matthijs de Ligt chose Juventus, Victor was pronounced Barcelona's first choice.
"His way of playing, his DNA, is very close to Barcelona's way of playing. He is one of the world's best centre-backs with the ball at his feet, and Barcelona wanted him. That's how it was. I can talk about that now.
"They contacted Ed Woodward on numerous occasions with concrete offers. I had a meeting with their transfer manager, Matt Judge, to try to make a transition. But they just said: 'There is no chance. Victor is one of our best players'.
"It ended up being a new agreement instead, even though Victor actually had three years left. Usually, they do not make extensions with players who have so long left on the contract, but when there was an interest at this level they had no other option."
Lindelof has started all six of Manchester United’s Premier League games this season alongside the world’s most expensive defender, Harry Maguire.
