Tottenham summer signing Serge Aurier was reportedly desperate to complete a move to Spanish giants Barcelona during the summer transfer window.
Spanish publication Sport claims that the 24-year-old was keen to ply his trade at the Camp Nou over the summer before he joined the North London club on deadline day for a reported fee of £23million.
The Ivorian has struggled to hold down a regular spot in the Spurs starting lineup, making a total of eight appearances in all competitions and contributing with one assist in the process.
The full-back had recently revealed that he had held discussions with the Catalan club regarding a potential deal but he claimed that they were concerned about his off-field antics.
However, the Spanish newspaper quoted a spokesman from the La Liga giants who wanted to set the record straight with regards to Aurier’s comments.
“We never sat down with the player or his representative, they wanted to sit down with us but we never did anything,” they said.
OPINION
Throughout the summer, there were reports that Aurier was attracting attention from the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and even Manchester United. Eventually the defender joined Tottenham but for some reason, he has decided to bring up the past which has come back to haunt with this statement from the Catalan club. The Ivorian gains nothing in telling the world that Barcelona were trying to sign him and Spurs supporters might expect from him given that he has made it clear that the Premier League was not his preferred destination. The former Paris Saint-German star needs to just focus on his football and concentrate on becoming a regular in this Spurs side domestically and in the Champions League.