Deco confirms Barcelona's interest in Lautaro Martinez

The sporting director of Barcelona, Deco, confirmed to the microphones of Sportitalia and Sky Sport the interest shown in the summer for Lautaro Martinez, captain of Inter who then remained with the Nerazzurri. “He was a player we liked and still like. Personally, I like him a lot,” declared the Blaugrana executive.

Deco recounted the summer affair by explaining that the Nerazzurri club’s position was immediately respected: “When my president spoke with the presidents of Inter and we were told he was not available, out of respect we did not insist any further. We never had any contact with the player or his agent.” The executive emphasized the desire to maintain proper relations between the clubs: “We try to do things correctly and very clearly. Sometimes there is a lot of speculation in the press, but the clubs know how things really went.”

The Blaugrana executive expressed great admiration for Martinez: “First of all, Lautaro is an idol at Inter and we have a lot of respect for that. I think he is a fantastic, spectacular player, an icon, a legend of Inter and the captain.” He then clarified: “It’s true that, among the players we were looking for and thought could be suitable for Barça, Lautaro was one of them.”

The sporting director reiterated that as soon as the Nerazzurri club communicated the striker’s unavailability, Barcelona did not try to go any further and did not talk about it again, confirming a respectful approach towards other clubs.