Fiorentina midfielder Antonin Barak has admitted he was left angry by Napoli’s decision to sign Tottenham flop Tanguy Ndombele over him last season.
Barak has been speaking to Diretta.it in Italy, relayed by Fiorentina.it, about various aspects of his career so far and a failed move to Napoli in in 2022.
The midfielder had been close to joining the eventual Italian champions that summer but saw his move collapse as they went for the Tottenham man instead.
Ndombele eventually arrived on loan that summer as Tottenham again sent him out on a temporary deal as he was not a part of their plans.
He did not prove to be a smart signing for Luciano Spalletit’s side, though, playing a peripheral role at best as they went on to win Serie A.
The deal was largely considered a disaster and the midfielder labelled a flop, something presumably only helped to further Barak’s frustrations over his own move collapsing.
“After the 2021/2022 season I was very close, it was practically already done,” he said.
“But unfortunately in the end everything got complicated, we were unable to close in June and Napoli delayed the sale of Fabián Ruiz, in whose place I should have arrived.
“Ultimately, Napoli received an offer to bring midfielder Ndombele from Tottenham almost for free.
“I was very angry at the time, but in hindsight I don’t blame them at all for choosing that path.”
