Barcelona wanted to sign now-Tottenham attacker in 2018, could not match €40m bid

Over the last few years, Brazilian striker Richarlison has increased his market value and reputation like few others, going from playing with Watford in 2017 to Tottenham Hotspur five years later.

He cost Watford less than €18 million in 2017, and after only his first season in English football, was on Barcelona’s agenda, according to a report published by MARCA.

Barcelona had only recently sold Neymar to PSG for €222 million, and showered nearly half of that on Ousmane Dembele in the same summer. Another €140 million, then, was devoted to Philippe Coutinho in the winter.

The club was still looking for another forward and Richarlison fit their bill as a player who could play across all three positions in attack. However, Everton decided to bet big on him, splashing €40 million to sign him in the summer of 2018.

Barça could not match that amount after signing Dembele and Coutinho, and set their sights on Lautaro Martinez, instead.

That move failed to transpire despite a fair few seasons of tracking the Argentine striker, after which Barcelona decided to shell out €50 million to sign Robert Lewandowski in the summer of 2022.

Richarlison, meanwhile, moved to Spurs during the same window for nearly €60 million. He has been playing second fiddle to Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane, and Dejan Kulusevski in attack, but has been very impressive at the World Cup with Brazil.

The 25-year-old has three goals in as many games, including a bicycle kick against Serbia on the opening matchday of the tournament.

Should continue to get less-than-ideal game-time with Tottenham in the second half of the season, yet another big move could be on the cards soon enough.