Former director reveals Barcelona were close to signing Premier League superstar | OneFootball

Former Barcelona sporting director Ramon Planes has been very vocal about his time at Barcelona, sharing anecdotes and stories here and there in every interview.

In his most recent interview with SPORT, Planes, who is now a director at Al Ittihad, revealed that Barcelona were close to signing Premier League forward Alexander Isak.

Planes on Barcelona signing Isak and Darwin Nunez

“We were very close to signing Isak for Barcelona – I was very convinced by him as a striker who fits Barcelona’s style, but he didn’t come,” he said.

Barcelona were indeed interested in a move for Isak during his time at Real Sociedad, when the forward was starting to make his mark at the highest level of football after an indifferent spell at Borussia Dortmund.

During his time in La Liga, Isak featured in 105 league matches, scoring 33 goals before joining Newcastle United.

Barcelona were close to signing Alexander Isak when he was at Sociedad. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Planes revealed that Barcelona were also linked with a move for Darwin Nunez as a replacement for Luis Suarez.

“Also, Darwin Nunez, I spoke with Koeman about signing him when he was at Almería. We wanted to keep him there and bring him later, but Benfica paid 25 million euros and snatched him,” he said.

Nunez joined Benfica in 2020, scoring 48 goals in 85 matches before joining Liverpool two years later. His performances at Anfield, though, have been topsy-turvy at best.

Nevertheless, Planes admitted that he and his team did find difficulties finding a replacement for Luis Suarez, whose departure in 2020 had left a gaping hole in Barcelona’s frontline.

“I think finding a new striker to succeed Suárez was a challenge we didn’t succeed in,” he concluded.

Barcelona somehow survived a few years by employing the likes of Martin Braithwaite, Luuk de Jong and an out-of-form Antoine Griezmann before eventually landing Robert Lewandowski in 2022.