But now he's somewhere else.
Mehdi Benatia became a superstar after his fantastic showing at AS Roma last season. He was then rumored to go everywhere, including Barcelona. Many Barça fans thought he was the perfect choice, but the Blaugrana signed Jérémy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen instead.
In an interview to German newspaper Kicker, the new Bayern Munich center-back revealed he received offers from many teams, included Barcelona.
"Barça asked about me this summer, yes. Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid also told me personally that they wanted me.
I said no to all of them because I wanted to stay at Roma. I had just bought a house, and I was finally adapted to the culture, the country and my teammates. The truth is I shouldn't have left, because I never wanted to. Then our sporting director Walter Sabatini came in and we talked. He said they never wanted to sell me, but they needed money and the offer from Bayern Munich was too good to refuse. I'm okay with their decision, and I'm happy here."
Source: Kicker via Mundo Deportivo
This is very interesting. Roma said they wanted almost €60 million for Benatia. All teams took a step back, nobody wanted him anymore and Roma got desperate. Bayern waited all window long for that to happen. They came in, offered half of what the Italians wanted, and they got the best center-back in Europe last season. Bayern was just sensational at timing. Barça could have done that, but being that smart is too much to ask for when your director is Andoni Zubizarreta.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1At0IW2
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق