Although the arrival of a left winger was FC Barcelona's priority from the start of the transfer market, the offices of the Spotify Camp Nou also sought to strengthen the right back. Joao Cancelo was the choice of the sporting management, after Deco was more than satisfied with his performances during the season he was on loan in Barcelona, and the Catalans tried to bring him back until the last days of the summer window.
However, the operation did not come to fruition due to the high demands of Manchester City, who refused to loan him again and were looking for a transfer. The Catalans refused this route and the Portuguese ended up heading to Saudi Arabia, while the option of Marc Pubill appeared on the horizon as the 'dark horse' to shore up the right side of the defence of the team led by Hansi Flick.
The name of the Olympic gold medallist did not ring for long in the corridors of the Blaugrana, since Almería did not consider a loan and demanded a very high price for his transfer, as reported in 'Mundo Deportivo'. The player has a termination clause of 40 million euros and the directors of the Andalusian club lowered their demands to 25 million, but Barça cannot afford an operation of this magnitude and the negotiations 'got stuck'. In fact, the Catalans were not willing to pay any amount for the signing of the full-back, not even the five million euros that were talked about in exchange for his loan.
Pubill could continue in Almería
Marc landed at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos for 5 million euros from Levante, who kept 25% of a future sale. The defender would be keen to wear the Barça shirt next season, but the agreement is very complicated and Almería's own coach, Rubi, has admitted that he has "a very high probability of staying". Deco had promised the full-back that they would do everything possible to sign him, but ultimately his signing has become unfeasible for the club.