José Ramón Alexanko is reportedly set to replace Patrick Kluivert as Barcelona academy director after the end of this season.
Journalist Cristina Cubero, writing in her column for Mundo Deportivo, explains how the Dutchman was vital in helping the Catalan club stop one of their young talents from joining Manchester City.
Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, simply known as Gavi, made his debut for Barcelona B at the age of 16.
According to Cubero, the teenager is ‘so good’ and ‘so different from others’ that the Citizens wanted him. She names City as the club that ‘steals’ young talent from the Spanish giants.
The journalist adds Pep Guardiola’s side were keen on taking Gavi and they ‘tempted’ him with a ‘dizzying offer’.
She further states: ‘In La Masia you have to choose which players deserve an effort because it is impossible, totally impossible to compete against clubs like City or PSG, who destroy everything.’
With City ready to make a significant effort for signing Gavi, Kluivert sat down with the youngster and his representative, and stopped the attacking midfielder leaving Barcelona.
‘Gavi did not go to Manchester City because Kluivert bet on him’, reads the headline of the report.
Cubero believes Gavi’s decision to not take the step of joining City is set to pay off in the future as she claims the Spain U16 international ‘today is closer to dazzling at the Camp Nou with his privileged head and his extraordinarily subtle football’.
