The newspaper Sport report that sporting director Deco studied various options to strengthen the heart of his defence. One name stood out above the rest: Aymeric Laporte, the Athletic Bilbao star.
The Spain international had just been crowned world champion, having formed a particularly strong defensive partnership alongside Pau Cubarsí.
He also ticked plenty of the boxes the Catalan side wanted: experience, the ability to build play from the back, and a solid knowledge of La Liga.
But his situation made any move complicated. Laporte had returned to Athletic Bilbao in September 2025 after his spell in Saudi Arabia, and his contract ran until June 2028. The Basque club had no intention of giving up one of their most important defenders.
Money made the deal almost impossible. Athletic weren't thinking about easing Laporte's exit, and even valued him at around 80 million euros. That figure sat well beyond what Barcelona could stretch to for a 32-year-old.
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Months after the summer window shut, Laporte addressed Barcelona's interest himself in an interview with La Vanguardia.
The defender looked back on how he lived through those moves, leaving the door ajar on a switch to the Camp Nou, even while admitting the passing of time may not be on his side.
Asked directly whether Barcelona had shown interest in signing him last summer, he didn't dodge it.
"Perhaps they were interested, but Athletic Bilbao did not want to let me leave, and that is why it was not possible," he explained.
Nor does Laporte see a move to Barcelona as completely off the table. Asked whether the matter was definitively closed, he kept the door open: "It depends on the future, as no one knows what may happen. It is true that time passes, and that the matter becomes more difficult."
He turned 32 last May, and he knows the chances of landing one last big transfer are shrinking fast.
Laporte also touched on his relationship with Pau Cubarsí. The pair formed one of the standout defensive partnerships at the World Cup, and the Athletic defender revealed their bond stretches well beyond the pitch.
The young Catalan, he said, had looked up to him long before breaking into Barcelona's first team: "He told me that he used to follow me and look up to me when he was young, even before he played his first match with Barcelona."
"From the beginning a special relationship developed between us off the pitch," he continued. "I have helped him with my experience, while he gives me the vitality and the guarantees that are hard to find in a player of such a young age. He does not make mistakes, and that is a rare thing for a player of his age."
Another name tied to Barcelona's current picture cropped up too: Rodri. Laporte played alongside the midfielder at Manchester City and with Spain, so he knows exactly what the man brings to a team.
"He is a pivotal player in the midfield position, and he is the one who takes control of things and directs the rhythm of play," he said. "I have won everything alongside him, and I cannot say anything bad about him."
He also weighed in on Rodri's move to Barcelona, insisting the decision came as no surprise: "He was born here, and the English league is characterised by great physicality. He came here to play the football we love, and especially him, which expresses his identity linked to Barcelona. This is the best option for him."
