The Chelsea and FC Barcelona Club Badges
Chelsea launched an ambitious transfer bid to sign Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez (Picture: Getty)
Former Barcelona board member Joan Soler has confirmed that Chelsea made a ‘very significant’ offer to sign Fermin Lopez last summer.
Chelsea prioritised overhauling their attack heading into the 2025/26 campaign, with Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens all arriving through the doors for a combined fee of around £175million.
A possible big-money deal for Lopez had also been mooted throughout the window and reports emanating out of Spain claimed the Club World Cup holders had tested Barcelona’s resolve with a ‘dizzying’ bid for the Spain international.
Manchester United were believed to be rivalling Chelsea in the race for Lopez, who was said to have grown frustrated with his bit-part role under Barca head coach Hansi Flick.
However, the Spanish champions made it clear they had no intention of losing their La Masia academy graduate and the 22-year-old decided to stay put in order to fight for a regular starting berth at the Camp Nou.
Lopez has gone on to rack up 11 goals and 12 assists in 32 appearances for Barca this season, with the club holding a one-point advantage over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
And earlier this month, Lopez committed his long-term future to the Catalan giants by putting pen to paper on a contract extension – containing a €500m release clause – that runs through to 2031.
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Lopez signed a new contract with Barcelona this month (Picture: Getty)
The Blues made a ‘significant’ offer for Lopez, says Soler (Picture: FC Barcelona)
‘There was a very significant offer for Fermin from Chelsea in the summer, but the player didn’t want to leave and we didn’t want to sell,’ Soler, who recently stepped down from his position on the board at Barcelona, explained to Cadena SER.
‘Barca shouldn’t be a selling club and we have to retain our homegrown players.
‘We also had a €250m offer to sell Lamine Yamal in recent years. It came through agents and that deal didn’t go through either.’
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Atletico de Madrid v FC Barcelona - Copa Del Rey
Lopez has scored 11 goals for Barcelona this season (Picture: Getty)
According to Soler, it is ‘very important’ for Barcelona’s stability and success going forward that are able to keep hold of genuine homegrown talent like Pedri, Yamal and Lopez.
‘Keeping Lamine and the talented youngsters has been a success for Deco,’ he added.
‘They’ve all had great offers and preferred to stay. They feel the club is theirs and we’ve managed to create a club where the players feel like they belong.
‘That is very important for achieving success.’
Once the transfer window had closed last summer, Lopez insisted he never even considered the prospect of moving on from the Camp Nou.
‘I have never hesitated about staying,’ he told the Spanish media.
‘I will fight to remain at Barca for many years.’
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