Tottenham summer signing Serge Aurier has revealed he was in advanced negotiations with Barcelona over the summer, but his bad reputation off the field brushed off the Catalans and they eventually went for Nelson Semedo from Benfica.
Aurier decided to move away from Paris Saint- Germain in the summer after struggling for regular game time and eventually completed his move to Tottenham. Spurs were long linked with Aurier and even agreed to a fee with PSG, only to get delayed by his legal issue back in France. The move eventually materialised in the 11th hour.
Back in 2016, the 24-year-old Ivorian was given a suspended two-year prison sentence for attacking a police officer which saw him getting banned from enter the UK. The Ivorian finally secured the required permit to play in the Premier League in August and completed his move soon after.
As if this was not enough, the right-back, last year, also called his then PSG teammate Angel di Maria a clown and made a homophobic remark about his then-manager Laurent Blanc and also received a three-match ban from UEFA in 2015 for insulting referee Bjorn Kuipers, for which he later apologised.
PSG signed Dani Alves over the summer and with them already having Thomas Meunier, Aurier’s departure was certain. The likes of Manchester United and Chelsea were credited with an interest, but the defender has claimed that he was in advanced negotiations with Barcelona, but the move dropped off as the club officials were not sure whether he would be a good influence or not.
“I think my reputation made four or five big European sides afraid,” Aurier was quoted by Goal. “I was negotiating with Barcelona, very advanced negotiations. And Barcelona’s people were not sure if I came here things would be different.
“It was the right choice [to leave France]. After a while, I did not feel comfortable with the media. For me, it was never going to end. After a while, I felt like a prisoner with a camera on my back. By staying in France, I would have never washed this image.”
Aurier did not have a dream debut (full debut) in Tottenham colours as he was sent off in Lilywhites’ 2-3 victory over West Ham in the Premier League. Also, the 24-year-old was criticised by a certain section of supporters for his dull performance against Crystal Palace recently and adding to this, the fans surely will not be happy now.
https://youtu.be/hiBRe9TMxKU
