“They stopped us” - Ex-Barcelona chief reveals how they wanted to sign current Real Madrid superstar when his market value was just €3 million

Former Barcelona sporting vice-president Javier Bordas has said that the Catalan side were interested in signing Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. He went on to reveal that the move was blocked by the club's technical secretariat, who were chasing Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Speaking to SPORT, Bordas said they proposed signing Courtois because he was doing well at Atletico Madrid while on loan from Chelsea. The former Barcelona sporting vice-president claimed that the move was blocked because they had moved to sign Ter Stegen and said:

"I proposed it to Sandro Rosell and he said, ‘Well, see if it can be done…’. Then, when he took it to the Technical Secretariat, they stopped us. There were good reports on Courtois at the Barça offices. He knew the league, and some executives thought it would be a good idea to sign him even though they already had Ter Stegen lined up."

Bordas added that his role was to suggest targets, and the final decision rested with the financial and technical members of the Barcelona board. He said:

"My case was a bit atypical. I make the proposal, but then the financial and technical aspects come into play. In the end, they decide whether it can be done or not."

Thibaut Courtois had a market value of €3 million while on loan at Atlético Madrid. The Premier League side loaned out the current Real Madrid star for two seasons after he was signed from Genk.

Barcelona wanted two Real Madrid stars, said former vice-president

Former Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre revealed in 2020 that the Catalan side wanted to sign Thibaut Courtois and Alvaro Morata. He told Mundo Deportivo that the current Real Madrid star was a target before they signed Marc-Andre ter Stegen, while Morata was not signed because of the club's budget.

"There was insistent talk of signing Courtois, but they finally brought in [Marc-Andre] ter Stegen at the discretion of Zubizarreta. Following the opinion of the players, bringing Morata would have created a possible conflict in the locker room. He would have liked to play and not be a substitute. There were two issues with Morata - one concerned controlling the club's budget which Pep Segura was in charge of and he was always extremely careful about not going over budget." “Then there was the sporting side - Morata was an international and, therefore, not the kind of player who should be sat on the bench in every game. He didn't want to be a substitute and the atmosphere within the squad was very good - if he had joined, it would have unsettled that but, as I say, it's not the players who make those decisions.”

Morata went on to play 95 matches for Real Madrid, while Thibaut Courtois has played 304 games for Los Blancos, and continues to be their #1 goalkeeper.

Edited by Sripad