Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has revealed that both Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe were on the verge of signing for the Catalan giants before ultimately moving to Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain respectively.
In an interview with Spanish media, Bartomeu stated that Vinicius Jr. was available in 2018 and could have joined Barcelona, but the club opted to sign Malcom instead. Meanwhile, Mbappe was close to arriving in 2017 after Barcelona reached an agreement with Monaco, but the player’s father chose Paris Saint-Germain due to financial reasons.
Bartomeu admitted that missing out on both players was a “huge regret” and suggested that Barcelona’s recent performances could have been different if the signings had materialized. The comments come as both Vinicius Jr. and Mbappe have become stars at rival clubs, with the Brazilian winning multiple titles at Real Madrid and the Frenchman excelling at PSG before his recent move to the Bernabeu.
