Barcelona made a last-minute attempt to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Netherlands international is on the verge of joining Juventus for £63m, but Barcelona launched one final effort to bring him to the Camp Nou.
The Blaugrana dropped out of the race for the sought-after centre-back after informing the player and agent Mino Raiola that they were unwilling to meet his wage demands.
That handed Juventus an advantage to win the 19-year-old’s signature, but Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu planned to fly to Amsterdam and personally convince De Ligt of a move to Catalonia.
A similar approach helped Barcelona beat off competition to sign Frenkie de Jong, a former team-mate of De Ligt’s at Ajax.
However, Raiola informed Bartomeu that he would only reopen discussions with the reigning La Liga champions if they matched Juventus’ salary offer.
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