Lautaro confirms Barcelona contact. “I wanted to stay at Inter”

For several weeks, Barcelona were portrayed as the club that had already completed the difficult part of the operation: reaching an agreement with Lautaro Martínez. The player has now added a rather important footnote. Barcelona’s interest was real, but the Argentine striker wanted to remain at Inter.

LAUTARO CONFIRMS BARCELONA’S INTEREST

The Inter captain addressed his future while attending the Gran Galà del Calcio. Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, he confirmed that Barcelona had shown genuine interest in signing him.

“The rumours about Barcelona were true, but in the end I wanted to stay here together with my teammates and my fans,” Lautaro said.

It is the first such direct confirmation from the player. Barcelona did make an attempt to sign him after failing to make progress in their pursuit of Julián Álvarez. The rest of Lautaro’s statement, however, does not fit quite as neatly with the version previously presented by reports in Spain.

THE AGREEMENT MISSING FROM LAUTARO’S VERSION

El Chiringuito journalist Marcos Benito reported that Barcelona officials had met members of Lautaro’s camp in Madrid. According to his information, those talks ended with the two sides agreeing personal terms. José Álvarez subsequently claimed that Barcelona were preparing an offer worth no more than €100 million.

The story suggested that the player’s approval had already been secured and that Inter were the only obstacle left. Lautaro has now presented a different sequence of events. He did not mention agreeing terms with Barcelona or waiting for the clubs to negotiate. He said that he had chosen to stay in Milan.

That does not prove that discussions with his representatives never took place. It does show that the picture of a striker waiting for Barcelona and Inter to settle the price was at least premature. Personal agreements are remarkably easy to complete when the player’s own decision is left outside the headline.

INTER NEVER WANTED TO OPEN NEGOTIATIONS

Italian reports had consistently played down the information coming from Spain. La Gazzetta dello Sport stated that Inter had not received an official bid and had no intention of selling their captain. Sky Sport Italia reported a similar position.

Lautaro is under contract until 30 June 2029. He is Inter’s captain, one of their most important players and was never in a contractual situation that could force the club to consider a sale. Inter did not set an asking price because they did not want to negotiate.

Barcelona may have been preparing a proposal worth up to €100 million. The difficulty was that the selling club did not want the money and, judging by Lautaro’s own words, the player was not pushing to leave either.

FROM JULIÁN TO LAUTARO

Julián Álvarez remained Barcelona’s preferred target for much of the summer. Atlético Madrid repeatedly refused to open negotiations despite the steady flow of reports about the Catalan club’s interest. When that route remained closed, Lautaro moved to the front of the discussion.

The pattern was familiar. Interest was followed by reports of the player’s approval, with the position of his current club treated as the final minor inconvenience. This time, the player himself has added another problem by saying he wanted to stay exactly where he was.

Barcelona eventually signed Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal for an initial €10 million plus add-ons. The Brazilian agreed a contract until 2029 and became the club’s final addition of the summer window.

THE TRANSFER ENDED WITH INTEREST

Lautaro did not use his interview to criticise Barcelona. He acknowledged that attention from major clubs was flattering, but he was equally clear about where he wanted to continue his career.

Barcelona were interested. Inter did not want to sell. Lautaro did not want to leave. The operation was apparently missing only an agreement between the clubs – and, as it turns out, the striker’s decision to move.