Barcelona were close to signing 20-year-old breakout Club World Cup defender in 2023

Non-European clubs have not done half as poorly as many anticipated before the FIFA Club World Cup and Brazilian teams, in particular, have been spectacular.

One such team which has seriously impressed in the global event that Barcelona are not participating in is Botafogo who qualified out of Group B and even eliminated Atletico Madrid in the process.

The Brazilian side have been phenomenal and pioneered by their strong and sturdy defence. Jair Cunha, the 20-year-old talent from Brazil, has particularly impressed and led by example.

Narrowly missed Barcelona

As relayed by SPORT in a recent report, Jair was very close to signing for Barça Atletic in January 2023 when he was still a part of Santos’ youth setup.

Deco, in fact, personally recommended Barcelona the signing despite not being a part of the board at that point in time.

Everything was set for the deal to go through at a relatively low cost and the Barça management saw him to be a great fit and the perfect profile to thrive and grow at the club.

Everything fell apart quickly, however, after the youngster ruptured the ligaments of his right knee through an untimely injury. Barcelona withdrew their interest and the player’s dream move fell apart.

The player, after he recovered, played a key role for the Santos first team and signed for Botafogo in February this year for a fee of €12 million.

In fact, he is now expected to make a move to the Premier League after the FIFA Club World Cup and there is word the deal may touch €20 million.

In three appearances for Botafogo in the competition so far, Jair has scored one goal, has overseen one clean sheet and averages over 12 defensive actions with close to 9.7 clearances per game. His numbers are truly staggering.

It would indeed have been a great boon for Barcelona had they signed the youngster back in 2023. However, they will not feel too hard done given the gold mine of talents they have in their academy.