Barcelona passed up chance to sign teenage Thibaut Courtois for €3m
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Former Barcelona scout has claimed that the Catalan club turned down the chance to sign a young Thibaut Courtois for a paltry transfer fee of €3 million.
The Belgian goalkeeper was often linked with a move to the Spanish giants last summer and Catalan press almost pressurised the Barcelona board members to sign him.
"In my last year as a scout at the club, we were offered Courtois straight from Belgium," Bojan Krkić Sr told Spanish radio station Cadena SER.
"He had established himself as a No 1 (for Genk) at the age of 19 and one of his agents was a friend of mine, a former teammate for Yugoslavia, who spoke very highly of him.
"We got a lot of videos of him and I put the word out that I was really impressed.
"He was really keen to join Barça and was willing to sign a permanent deal and then play for the B-team or be farmed out on loan.
"We'd discussed a €3 million fee because he was an unknown. It was a bargain.
"(Barça Sporting Director Andoni) Zubizarreta didn't do anything with it and he joined Chelsea a few months later."
Courtois has since developed into one of the world's best goalkeepers and is now the undisputed number one for Chelsea and Belgium despite being only 22.
The Belgian goalkeeper was often linked with a move to the Spanish giants last summer and Catalan press almost pressurised the Barcelona board members to sign him.
"In my last year as a scout at the club, we were offered Courtois straight from Belgium," Bojan Krkić Sr told Spanish radio station Cadena SER.
"He had established himself as a No 1 (for Genk) at the age of 19 and one of his agents was a friend of mine, a former teammate for Yugoslavia, who spoke very highly of him.
"We got a lot of videos of him and I put the word out that I was really impressed.
"He was really keen to join Barça and was willing to sign a permanent deal and then play for the B-team or be farmed out on loan.
"We'd discussed a €3 million fee because he was an unknown. It was a bargain.
"(Barça Sporting Director Andoni) Zubizarreta didn't do anything with it and he joined Chelsea a few months later."
Courtois has since developed into one of the world's best goalkeepers and is now the undisputed number one for Chelsea and Belgium despite being only 22.
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- AC Milan attempted to sign young Francesco Totti
- Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid despite Manchester United offering more money
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- 'Roberto Mancini chose Mario Balotelli instead of Edinson Cavani for Manchester City'
