Beijing time (CEST) on 27 September, according to Sport, Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martínez was willing to join Barcelona in the summer transfer window.

Barcelona sporting director Deco revealed a few days ago that the club had attempted to recruit Lautaro in August this year. The player was a target admired by Barcelona, but Inter Milan closed the door.

Sport reports that after confirming Lautaro's willingness to wear a Barcelona jersey, Barcelona began pursuing the Argentine striker. Lautaro had only one condition: he hoped to reach an amicable agreement with Inter Milan out of gratitude to the club, but negotiations yielded no positive results. However, the door was indeed still open at that time.

Lautaro's name began circulating in mid-August, after Barcelona confirmed that Atlético Madrid would not sell Julián Álvarez. Despite various external rumors, Barcelona consistently prioritized the Atlético Madrid striker, never giving up on him, and waited until the final stages of the transfer window until it became truly impossible to proceed further. Lautaro, on the other hand, was a candidate who could reach consensus between Barcelona's management and Flick. He had always been on Barcelona's list, but only became a priority target in the final stages.

Deco was responsible for approaching Lautaro's inner circle. Without the player's own consent, negotiations could not proceed at all. Furthermore, just as in 2021, Lautaro did not reject the possibility of joining Barcelona; he was confident he could adapt to Barcelona's style, and with the team's project continuing to develop upward, there would be more opportunities to win titles in the short term. In 2021, then-technical secretary Ramón Planes had initiated negotiations with the striker, but Barcelona's financial situation at that time made such an investment impossible.

Lautaro has always been loyal to Inter Milan and has become a star player for the Italian club. He joined Inter Milan in 2018, and his latest contract extension runs until 2029, accompanied by a significant salary increase and removal of the release clause that existed in his previous contract. This summer, due to World Cup factors, there were not many transfer rumors surrounding Lautaro, until Barcelona intervened... although the deal was actually difficult to achieve.

By late August, Inter Milan had completed their team planning and had no need to buy or sell players. If a deal might have been possible in June, it was no longer possible at that point. Barcelona president Laporta had direct contact with Inter Milan president Marotta, who is a transfer market veteran. This contact also clarified one thing: the Argentine player was not for sale. Inter Milan was unwilling to sell because, at that stage of the transfer window, they could no longer find a suitable replacement.

Barcelona had indeed developed a plan to invest in Lautaro. With virtually no salary constraints, Barcelona always maintained the possibility of raising funds by selling players to facilitate the deal. But in the end, the club did not need to activate this plan.

Ultimately, Barcelona reactivated their plan to acquire Gabriel Jesus. The player had been recommended to Barcelona since the end of last season, with very favorable terms. Because the transfer fee was fully affordable for Barcelona, and the Brazilian player also agreed to take a pay cut to facilitate the registration. This emergency recruitment ultimately resolved the team's "number 9" problem, and Raphinha eventually began appearing in that position.

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