How Barcelona rejected the chance to sign Kylian Mbappe in favour of star who flopped at Camp Nou - ex-sporting director explains

In an appearance on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, Bordas — who worked under former presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Bartomeu in a position now occupied by Deco — insisted that if it had been up to him, Mbappe would have signed for Barca in 2017. At the time, the club had €222 million to spend after PSG's record signing of Neymar. But they chose to pursue Ousmane Dembele instead, a player who failed to fulfil his potential while with the Spanish giants.

The Barcelona hierarchy's decision to opt for Dembele, signing a deal worth up to €147m for the French international, turned out to be a poor move. He never reached the heights expected and was shipped out to PSG last summer following his disappointing spell at Barca, while Mbappe has continued racking up goals in Ligue 1 and stunning on the international stage for France.

"If I had been in charge, Mbappe would have played for Barca," said Bordas. "I moved for Mbappe. He could have come to Barca. We didn't specify a price, but he would have gone for €100 million. The coaches told us that they wanted Dembele because of the other players we had. There was the option to bring both of them."

It certainly seems as though the Barcelona ship sailed a long time ago for Mbappe; today, Real Madrid continue to be the club most closely linked with the French star, who has reportedly already put pen to paper on a contract to take him to join Jude Bellingham and co. Transfer speculation surrounding the 25-year-old has been relentless over the past few seasons, and it appears Mbappe's big move will finally take place this summer.