Xavi left Barcelona in 2015, while Andres Iniesta followed his compatriot out of the club at the end of last season.
Robert Fernandez, the former Blaugrana technical secretary was tasked to find a replacement for the 38-year-old, while he was also searching for a replacement for the Camp Nou outfit’s former number eight.
Friday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo takes us through the La Liga winners’ process and that is when they explain who were the targets.
Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur was one of the objectives of Fernandez in 2017, but they were aware that any approach for the star would be ‘very complex’, especially because of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
After realising that it is an uphill task to sign the Dane, Barcelona decided to shift their focus elsewhere and they also changed their strategy as they started looking for younger players.
There were talks about Barcelona’s interest in Eriksen in the summer, but no deal took shape as Levy wins once again when it comes to protecting his prized assets at Tottenham.
The shear fear of dealing with Levy, and the awareness any transfer would cost an astronomical amount, is helping Mauricio Pochettino keep his best players.
