Barcelona priced out of move for €25 million-rated Olympics gold medallist

In the closing days of the summer transfer window, FC Barcelona have shown an interest in signing UD Almeria right-back Marc Pubill.

Having failed to re-sign Joao Cancelo, who has since moved to Saudi Arabia, Barcelona have explored the possibility of bringing Pubill in as a replacement.

Pubill’s rice tag deemed too high

However, according to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona’s attempts to sign Pubill from UD Almeria were thwarted by his price tag, while a loan deal was never considered.

The full-back of the Spanish Olympic team that won the gold medal in Paris has a termination clause of €40 million. Almeria lowered their demands to €25 million, but Barça were not in a position to cope with operations of this magnitude and no further progress was made.

No late move for Pubill. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Prior reports had suggested that Barcelona were considering signing Pubill on a loan deal by paying a €5 million fee, with a purchase option for next year.

However, as per the report, the possibility of a loan was never put on the table because Almeria were not going to accept it and because Barça were not willing to spend any money, not even the €5 million that was talked about.

Although the player is keen to move to Barcelona, an agreement is very complicated to the point that Almeria manager Rubi himself has admitted that he has ‘a very high probability of continuing’.

Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, had promised the full-back that they would do their best to sign him. But there will be no late movements for Pubill on deadline day.