Barcelona came very close to signing Darwin Núñez in the summer of 2020, but the operation did not go forward due to the financial problems that were already affecting the Catalan club at the time. The newspaper ‘Mundo Deportivo’ tells this Monday all the outlines of the negotiations, the money that was on the table and the plans that the Blaugrana had for the young Uruguayan.
Luis Suárez – former Barcelona player, now at Atlético Madrid – had already called attention to his compatriot who played for Almería (2nd Division), even considering him one of the forwards of the future. And Barcelona wanted to take Darwin to Camp Nou, in fact, the club already had good information about the young Uruguayan from the time he played for Peñarol. His adaptation to European football was meteoric – 16 goals in 32 games in his first year at Almería – and the Blaugrana contacted João Gonçalves, technical director of the Andalusian club. According to ‘Mundo Deportivo’, the idea was to buy part of the player’s pass at the most affordable price possible and let it borrow for another season at Almería, which held 20 percent of the Uruguayan’s sporting rights. A good deal, considering that the club had paid Peñarol 8 million. But when everything was clear, Barcelona backed off, saying they didn’t have the money to complete the operation, which involved a budget between 15 and 20 million.
In this, Benfica appeared with an irrefutable offer of 25 million, making Darwin’s departure in the most expensive transfer ever from the 2nd Spanish division.
João Gonçalves explained to the Catalan newspaper that there were intense negotiations “for months”, that Barcelona were impressed with Darwin’s youth, quality and potential, but that the deal ended up not moving forward.
Barcelona’s source told ‘Mundo Deportivo’ that the player remains on the Catalans’ radar, although circumstances are now different, not only because of the club’s financial reality – which has not improved -, but also because of the growth that Darwin meanwhile had at Benfica. Ramón Planes, Barça’s technical secretary, has been watching him, but the newspaper explains that Benfica won’t sell the striker at any price…
Darwin, it will be recalled, scored two goals against Barcelona in the Champions League game, which Benfica won, by 3-0.
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