Barcelona youngster came very close to signing for Chelsea in 2019

Alejandro Balde is enjoying an excellent breakthrough season with FC Barcelona. The 19-year-old has become one of the regulars in Xavi Hernandez’s starting XI this term, ahead of seasoned veterans like Jordi Alba and Marcos Alonso.

On top of that, the left-back also made his breakthrough into the Spanish national team, that too at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar no less.

The teenage defender has appeared 22 times in all competitions for the Blaugrana this season, registering three assists and impressing onlookers with his all-round displays on the left flank.

However, it could all have turned out very differently for Balde as a report from Beteve claims that the Barcelona academy product came very close to signing for Chelsea a few years ago.

This revelation comes from the La Masia graduate’s former representative Junior Minguella, as part of a documentary about the young left-back which will be airing in mid-February.

As per the report, Balde was very close to moving to Chelsea in 2019, soon after he had broken into the Catalans’ Juvenil category. At the time, the youngster, who was just 16 years old, and was competing with Mika Marmol in Victor Valdes’ youth team.

Minguella revealed that Balde was having some doubts about his situation within the team and several clubs had shown an interest. But, it was Chelsea who were primed to sign the teenage defender.

“Many teams approached us and we were about to accept an offer from Chelsea,” said Minguella.

However, the move ended up collapsing as Chelsea were hit with a transfer ban by UEFA.

“Chelsea received a sanction from UEFA and could not sign players, and that created a certain uncertainty in Balde’s family environment. I think that correctly, in the end, the transfer did not take place,” Minguella added.

Fast-track three years later and Balde is a crucial member of the first-team setup at Barcelona. With his contract expiring next year, the Blaugrana are working to tie him down to a new deal at the earliest.

Reports suggest that an agreement over a new contract until 2027 is very much in the final stage, although the Financial Fair Play regulations make it difficult for the club to register it right away.