Bartomeu also pursued Kylian Mbappé, who now plies his trade at Real Madrid. At the time, though, Paris Saint-Germain won the race to sign the teenager, who had just helped AS Monaco secure the 2017 French title.
"Monaco were asking for a lot of money," Bartomeu said, though Barcelona could have afforded it. The talks had also gone well.
"I spoke to Mbappé's father several times," Bartomeu revealed, "but Paris Saint-Germain pressed hard on Monaco, and I believe Mbappé himself preferred to join a French club."
Instead, Barcelona signed Ousmane Dembélé from Borussia Dortmund; a move that underwhelmed in Catalonia before he eventually flourished at PSG and even won the Ballon d'Or.