24-year-old defender rejects Barcelona offer in favour of Bayern Munich move – report

In a bitter blow for Barcelona, AFC Ajax defender Noussair Mazraoui has reportedly rejected the Catalans’ offer and is primed to sign for German giants Bayern Munich in the summer.

Mazraoui, a product of the Ajax academy, is in the final few months of his contract with the Dutch giants and is attracting widespread interest from several clubs across Europe.

Barcelona had emerged as one of his most ardent suitors and until recently, it looked like the Blaugrana had the Moroccan international’s signing on a Bosman deal all wrapped up.

However, Bayern Munich made a late push for his transfer and have seemingly succeeded in luring Mazraoui away from Barcelona.

As per a report from Italian outlet Tutto Mercato Web (h/t Mundo Deportivo), the 24-year-old right-back has rejected contract proposals from Barcelona and AS Roma and will join the German champions once his current deal with Ajax expires.

The report states that Bayern Munich tabled a lucrative contract offer worth around €10 million per season for the defender, which seems to have done enough to convince Mazraoui to snub the Catalan giants’ advances.

It will come as a blow for Barça, considering the groundwork they had put in to secure the signing of the Ajax full-back.

Mundo Deportivo does mention that while the Blaugrana may be set to miss out on Mazraoui, they continue to monitor the situation of Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta closely.

The 32-year-old also had a contract expiring on June 30, although it is believed that the Blues have triggered a one-year extension in his deal, with manager Thomas Tuchel also alluding to it in a recent interview.

Despite that, there is a possibility that Chelsea will allow Azpilicueta to leave if he asks the club to do so. It remains to be seen if such a scenario materialises. For now, though, if nothing goes wrong, Mazraoui will be snubbing Barcelona and joining Bayern Munich.