Malaga forward Sandro Ramirez claims that he came close to joining Tottenham Hotspur at the start of 2016. Ramirez came through the ranks of the famous La Masia academy at Barcelona. It was expected that he would go on to achieve great things with the Catalan club. Unlike in the period under Guardiola, Barcelona decided to go with superstar signings like Neymar and Luis Suarez rather than bringing players from the youth team. As a result, the highly talented Ramirez failed to get enough first-team opportunities and made only 32 appearances in his two years at the club.
Ramirez, though, demonstrated his quality by coming up with seven goals in these appearances, which were largely as a substitute. The 21-year-old claimed that he always felt that the stranglehold of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez would make it almost impossible for him to break through in the Barcelona team at the moment. Hence, he decided to try his luck elsewhere and this led to interest from Spurs. It is understood that Tottenham even went as far as agreeing on a four-and-a-half-year contract with Ramirez before Barcelona ultimately blocked the move. Ramirez said:
“The interest from England was in January.
“Barcelona didn’t let me leave and I was free to go where I wanted to in the summer. When my agent told me about Malaga’s interest, I didn’t think about it. I came here, saw the fanbase and how they love football. It really appealed to me.”
One of the high-profile Barcelona youth team players to shine in the Premier League has been Bojan Krkic. Even Spurs have tried their luck with Barcelona youngsters in the past with Giovanni dos Santos a name instantly recognizable by Spurs supporters. The Mexican spent four seasons at White Hart Lane without much success and he is now playing with LA Galaxy in the MLS.
It is understood that one of the key reasons for the deal falling through is the buyback clause insisted by Barcelona as part of the sale to Spurs. Even though Tottenham were highly confident in the abilities of the young Spaniard, providing a buyback clause for such a talented player could potentially leave Spurs at the risk of losing him in a couple of years.
Juventus learned it the hard way after losing Alvaro Morata in the summer to Real Madrid. Morata returned to the Spanish club after two years in Turin just as he was starting to have a far bigger say in the first team.
Now that the doors have been closed upon a move to Spurs, Ramirez he is keen on proving his abilities with Malaga. He has had a decent start to the season with three goals in nine league appearances. It is noteworthy that all his goals have come in the last month, with two Man of the Match appearances in the last three games also demonstrated his impact on the team. He clearly seems to be settling down and this has had a positive impact on his performances.
