Former Barcelona scout Josep Moratalla has revealed he offered Manchester City striker Ferran Torres to the club for a bargain price before his move to the Etihad.
Torres has emerged as one of the rising stars of Spanish football since joined Manchester City in a £25m deal from Valencia in August 2020.
Since then he’s managed 16 goals and four assists in 43 games for City as well as establishing himself on the international stage with Spain, for whom he’s managed 12 goals and one assist in 22 games to date.
That’s not gone unnoticed back in La Liga, where Barcelona are now thought to be chasing his signature as they seek a new forward for manager Xavi.
Several reports over the last few months have indicated that the two clubs are locked in talks over a deal, with Manchester City even lowering their demands to help things along in a move that could reach €60m.
The sentiment is that there is a deal there to be done, particularly as Torres is keen on the move to the Nou Camp if it is on offer.
It seems it could have happened much sooner for him, though, with Moratalla revealing he offered the player to the club earlier in his career.
“I saw him with the Spanish national team, and I made a very favourable report,” he told Esport 3, relayed by CCMA.
“(It was) long before Manchester City became interested in him and at a very low price: he was not even €7m.
“There has always been a problem: closing operations.”
“The people above are the ones who have to make the decisions. It’s a structural issue where we weren’t asked for the opinion of the technical secretariat network.”
“At the level of detection of the players, the operation was under control, but it is in the streamlining of recruitment where the problem has been.”
