After Sergio Busquets concluded his trophy-laden chapter in Catalonia, Barcelona were compelled to immediately search for adequate replacements capable of carrying his legacy from the base of midfield.
The start of the summer transfer window was thus spent scavenging for a stylistically competent defensive midfielder, with members of the Blaugrana hierarchy divided over the recruitment strategy.
Now, MARCA have come out to report that the links between Barça and Ruben Neves were legitimate and that the reasons behind the move collapsing largely came down to Deco’s influence as an arbitrator behind closed doors.
Ruben Neves to Barcelona was bad for all parties
Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s insistence on signing Neves, paired with his excellent relations with the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes magnified the possibility of the Portuguese joining the Catalan giants.
However, Xavi and the coaching staff remained opposed to the signing throughout, claiming Martin Zubimendi was instead a player worth pursuing.
The coach was seemingly against signing Neves, as he saw the Portuguese international as more similar to the profile of Franck Kessie or Frenkie de Jong, as a box-to-box midfielder and did not deem him fit for the pivot role.
Deco, who had not yet been handed the official director’s role at that point, was already seen pulling the strings in the boardroom and played a key man in the move not materializing.
Playing the mediator, Deco defused the situation by speaking to both Xavi and Mendes and expressing the qualms on each side, leading to an outcome that saw both parties dissatisfied with the potential transfer.
Xavi explained his desired profiles to the Blaugrana’s new sporting director and made it clear why he did not see Neves as a good fit.
Deco also spoke with Mendes and asked him whether the midfielder knew he would be going into a team where the manager did not entirely trust him.
The former Portuguese international made it very clear that if this operation was done it would be a ‘bad deal’ for everyone – Xavi would get a player he did not want, Neves would not play much, and Barça would be spending a lot.
Eventually, Deco succeeded in convincing the super agent to search for other offers, which led to Neves finding a suitor in Saudi Arabia.
With the 26-year-old moving to Al Hilal, Barcelona carried out the low-cost operation of Oriol Romeu, as Xavi showed minimal resistance to his signing.
