Just in: Barcelona expressed their interest in PSG forward but the deal was too complex

As the deadline day heats up, Barcelona have been linked to every budget striker under the sun as they hope to bolster their offensive unit. Santi Aouna of Calcio Mercato now reports that the club was interested in Paris Saint-Germain forward Mauro Icardi, but the move was too complicated to pursue.

The La Masia graduate is on a high salary, which makes his signing ambitious but coupled with PSG’s asking price, it was completely ruled out.

Icardi moved to Paris from Inter Milan after being outcasted from the team. It was a €50 million deal, which has probably not worked out quite the way PSG would have wanted it to. He scored 12 goals in the league in his first season, just seven in the next, and has two goals so far in three games in 2021/22.

Juventus were linked with a move for him as well, but the capital outfit refused Bianconeri’s final offer for the Argentine.

Icardi’s career has been on an upwards trajectory since moving away from Barcelona as a teenager, but his stint of regular game-time might be coming to an end with Lionel Messi’s move to PSG.

As it stands, he’s probably the fifth-choice forward in that attack behind Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr, and Angel di Maria.