Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has revealed that the club opted to sign Ousmane Dembele instead of Kylian Mbappe back in 2017.
Dembele joined Barça in a deal worth up to €145m following a successful season with Borussia Dortmund, while France teammate Mbappe left Monaco for Paris Saint-Germain for up to €180m later that same window.
But while Mbappe has gone from strength to strength in the French capital, Dembele has spent much of his time at Camp Nou injured and on the fringes of the squad.
Bartomeu, who is not a popular man among Barcelona supporters due to a series of bad decisions that ultimately have led to their current financial crisis, revealed in an interview with Esport3 (via Marca) that a deal for Mbappe was possible, but was vetoed in favour of signing Dembele.
"[Mbappe's] signing was on the table, but the coaches preferred Dembele because they wanted a player to open the field," he said.
