Barcelona tried to hijack Hapinha and Coulibaly as well.
[골닷컴] Reporter Choi Dae-hoon = Did FC Barcelona really enjoy hijacking? It has been revealed that Barcelona attempted to hijack Khalidu Coulibali, who joined Chelsea.
On the 24th (local time), British media ‘Daily Star’ reported, “Barcelona tried to hijack Coulibaly, who moved to Chelsea, but could not carry out the plan due to lack of money as financial difficulties continued.”
Coulibaly, who was a living legend in Naples, could not resolve differences in the process of renewing his contract with the club. At the same time, the transfer of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger caught Coulibaly on Chelsea’s radar, which urgently needed a defensive reinforcement, and the transfer was finalized after long negotiations.
“My dream has always been to play in the Premier League,” Coulibaly said when he joined Chelsea. Chelsea first approached me in 2016, but the transfer was not made at the time. This time when they made an offer to me, I accepted it. It’s because I really wanted to play in the Premier League.”
However, a shocking fact was revealed due to ‘Daily Star’. Even before the end of last season, it was revealed that Barcelona were trying to intercept the signing of Coulibaly after hijacking Leeds United’s Hafinha, which Chelsea had been targeting.
Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis said in an interview: “Barcelona participated in the competition for Coulibaly, but they did not have the right money due to financial difficulties. Coulibaly wanted to leave the club and I told him ‘Barcelona can’t send you there because they don’t have the money’. Then Chelsea came one step closer and we couldn’t refuse.”
He continued, “Coulibaly asked me to send it, so I sent it. I did everything I could to catch him and offered him €6 million per season. “But Coulibaly wanted a new experience at a big club, so I decided to accept his contribution,” he added.
Barcelona tried to intercept Coulibali following Rafinha, but this was unsuccessful. However, the hijacking of Jules Kunde (Sevilla FC), another defender Chelsea have been constantly targeting, seems to be on the verge of success. It’s unclear whether Barcelona have a taste for hijacking or their intentions, but it is true that they continue to intercept players.
photo = Getty Images