Left: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel | Right: REUTERS/Bruna Casas
Deco, who works as sporting director at Barcelona, has now revealed the interesting reason behind the club's decision to sign Anthony Gordon instead of Marcus Rashford over the summer.
Needless to say, the gamble on the former Newcastle winger has paid off so far, with his five assists across four La Liga matches helping the Blaugrana storm to the top of the table early on. It already looks as though he could repay his £70 million fee with interest.
But with Manchester United boyhood hero Rashford also performing well on loan last season - scoring 14 goals and providing 15 assists as Barcelona won a domestic treble - his snub over the summer raised plenty of questions.
Given his form, it seemed like a no-brainer for Barcelona to trigger the £26 million loan-to-buy clause. Now, though, an interesting explanation has revealed why that never came to fruition.
Interesting Reason Behind Barca's Anthony Gordon Decision
REUTERS/Bruna Casas
Opening up on Barcelona's transfer strategy during the summer transfer window, sporting director Deco explained how Gordon was signed to bring 'energy' to Hansi Flick's squad after the club noticed a weakness in the side last season. He explained, as per the Daily Mail:
"One of the things we saw that was difficult last year was the fact that, when we were without Raphinha, the team's energy seemed to drop.
"We looked at many wingers, but signing players in the Premier League is almost impossible, you see the figures involved. He was the profile that best fit. The great advantage is that the players are excited about coming to our project."
Bukayo Saka in an Arsenal shirt, Lamine Yamal in a Barcelona shirt, and Vinicius Junior in a Real Madrid shirt - all from this season
Bukayo Saka in an Arsenal shirt, Lamine Yamal in a Barcelona shirt, and Vinicius Junior in a Real Madrid shirt - all from this season
After winning La Liga last season, Barcelona bolstered Flick's squad handsomely in the summer by attracting a string of high-profile stars including Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus and Karim Adeyemi to the Nou Camp, as well as Gordon.
Catalan Giants Well-Equipped For Champions League Glory
REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Barcelona had reached the Champions League semi-finals in each of the previous two campaigns, but this year feels different. Indeed, they've never lacked the firepower up top, with Lamine Yamal up for a Ballon d'Or once again this year, and Raphinha being among those unlucky to not receive a nomination.
What's different this time around, however, is that they look more well-rounded and balanced. Rodri is the main reason for that, and his £65m signing has Gary Lineker tipping the Spanish champions to go all the way in Europe.
The Catalans triumphed 5-1 over Feyenoord in their first Champions League outing of the campaign on Wednesday night. They look slick as ever in attack, but now with the added reassurance that those behind the frontline are working overtime to ensure they have a tighter grip on matches than they showed at various flashpoints of last term.