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Agent: Mbappe wanted to sign for Barcelona

Eric Vidal / Reuters

Before becoming the most expensive teenager in football, Kylian Mbappe had his eyes set on Barcelona.

His agent, Josep Maria Minguella, told COPE's Tiempo de Juego that the teenage forward only wanted to sign for Barcelona upon learning that Neymar was going to Paris Saint-Germain. Of course, in the end, the product of AS Monaco joined the Brazilian phenom at PSG for a reported fee of around €180 million.

"Barca had Mbappe for €120 plus €30 million," Minguella said, as transcribed by Marca. "I spoke to his father and he only wanted to come to Barca, that he'd love playing with (Lionel) Messi. He didn't want to go to Real Madrid to be with the BBC."

As for Neymar's exit, Minguella declared: "It's difficult to contact (Josep Maria) Bartomeu. Through a mutual friend I told him that Neymar was done and he'd sign Mbappe."

Minguella, formerly a director and chief technical assessor at Barcelona, was responsible for bringing Diego Maradona to the Blaugrana in 1982. He's widely credited for discovering Messi and also served as Rivaldo's agent.

At PSG, Mbappe boasts two goals and three assists in Ligue 1, and two goals and two assists in the Champions League.

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