Article by David Marinescu – Published Sunday, 10 May 2026, 08:20 / Updated Sunday, 10 May 2026 08:20
Ahead of El Clasico, former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says that before Vinicius Junior arrived at Real Madrid, the Brazilian had reached an “agreement in principle” with the team he played for.
Arriving in Madrid in the summer of 2018, Vinicius became one of Real's most important players. Before he took that step, other big European clubs showed interest in his services, including Barcelona, according to the Catalan club's president at the time, Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Ahead of El Clasico, with Barcelona set to host Real Madrid tonight at 10pm, Josep Maria Bartomeu has claimed that under his tenure, both Vinicius Junior and Mbappe, but rather the Brazilian, could have arrived in Catalonia.
Bartomeu shakes up the waters before El Clasico: “Barcelona, agreement in principle with Vinicius”
“Vinicius was interested in the club, he talked to his family, his agents and indeed there was an agreement in principle. But Madrid probably made a better offer than Barca and took him,” Bartomeu told ESPN.
Regarding Mbappe, Bartomeu claims that there was interest while the Frenchman was playing at AS Monaco:
“They were asking for very high amounts, which we could afford to pay at the time, we were the club that made the most money in the world. I remember talking to Mbappe's father a few times, but PSG put a lot of pressure on Monaco and I think Mbappe preferred to go to PSG, a French team.”
Bartomeu's tenure at the helm of the Catalan club ended in scandal, with him leaving Barcelona through the back door, with sporting results below expectations and colossal debts, which the new management is still struggling to keep under control.
