When Barcelona Brutally Pulled Out Of A Transfer As Player Was Flying To Spain

Cedric Bakambu once responded to Barcelona pulling the plug on his transfer - while he was travelling to Spain.

Barcelona had reportedly agreed a deal with Chinese club Beijing Guoan to take Bakambu on loan earlier this season.

The Congolese international had to catch two flights to reach Spain as he was in South Korea.

Bakambu had made it to Hong Kong before receiving a phone call from Barca's Sporting Director Eric Abidal.

Abidal explained that the deal was off, and Bakambu took to Twitter to poke fun at the situation.

Bakambu tweeted statistics website Transfermarkt to ask if he could have 'Almost Barcelona' in his transfer history.

The site replied in good humour and sent an edited page with Barcelona in the 29-year-old's list of clubs.

He also tagged Blaugrana forward Antoine Griezmann and said he would 'see him another time'.

The duo played together at youth level in the French national team.

Barcelona instead went on to sign Danish international Martin Braithwaite from fellow La Liga side Leganes.

Quique Setien's side are currently light in the attacking department and it looks like a forward could leave in the summer.

Reports in recent days have suggested Barca could be set to take a huge loss on Ousmane Dembele.

The Blaugrana forked out a whopping £130 million to draft him in as Neymar's replacement in 2017 but the former Borussia Dortmund winger has struggled for form and fitness.

He's played 74 times for the club, with just five starts for the La Liga champions in the current campaign.

And with coronavirus having a negative financial impact, SPORT say Barcelona are now keen on removing his £200,000-a-week pay packet from their wage budget and have dropped their asking to just £37 million.

It's a third of what they paid three years back and highlights what a disappointing investment the Frenchman has been in Catalonia.

Still, even with his persistent muscle injuries, the 23-year old could still be a very tidy addition given the price tag being mooted.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

Topics: Football News, Transfer, Football, Barcelona

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a journalist for SPORTbible and he has previous experience with Manchester United. He has spoken to some of the biggest names in sport including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, WWE COO Triple H and WWE legend The Undertaker. May or may not do a decent impression of Jamie Carragher.

@DanMarland_