Barcelona turned down Dybala in favour of Coutinho pursuit

 

Barcelona twice turned down the opportunity to sign Paulo Dybala even though Juventus were willing to do business for a stunning €120m (£110m) deal, claims Spanish broadcaster La Sexta, via AS.

 

Ernesto Valverde’s side instead opted to use the money left from Neymar’s £193m sale to pursue Liverpool creator Philippe Coutinho but failed to prise the Brazilian away from Anfield.

 

Liverpool rejected multiple bids in excess if £100m from their European counterparts and it has now emerged Barcelona had the opportunity to sign Dybala earlier last month.

 

Dybala’s brother and representative reportedly met with a Barcelona chief midway through August, with a Juventus executive also involved in discussions, during which it became clear the Argentina international was interested in a potential move.

 

However, Barcelona opted against pursuing a deal as they did not believe Dybala would be compatible with Lionel Messi, despite the fact the Juventus No.10 is widely regarded as Messi’s heir for Argentina.

 

 Barcelona turned down Dybala in favour of Coutinho pursuit

 

The 23-year-old has made a tremendous start to the season and is currently the highest rated player in Serie A (9.15) after earning the WhoScored Man of the Match award in both of Juventus’ opening matches.