Barcelona president rules out move for Inter striker Lautaro Martinez

Speaking exclusively to Sport, Barcelona president has dismissed the club’s chances of signing Lautaro Martinez from Inter during this summer’s transfer window.

The Argentine has been constantly linked with a move to the Camp Nou with the hierarchy identifying him as the long-term replacement for Luis Suarez upfront.

Earlier in May, Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio insisted that the club have no interest in selling Martinez and the Blaugrana or any other interested side must trigger the £99.5m release clause on the player’s contract.

The Nerazzurri chief also mentioned that the corresponding clause expires in early July and that appears the case with July 7 being the last date for the teams to trigger the option this summer.

Hence, the San Siro outfit are in a strong position to decline any transfer bids for the centre-forward and Bartomeu has acknowledged that Martinez won’t be heading to the Blaugrana this summer.

In an interview with Sport, Bartomeu confirmed that talks were held with the Nerazzurri for Martinez, but considering the current financial situation, the negotiations have been officially stopped.

“Barça have been talking to Inter for several weeks about Lautaro, but the talks were stopped in agreement with Inter. The situation does not allow for big investments,” He told.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a number of clubs have been hampered financially and Bartomeu has accepted that his team are not in a position to make big investments at the current point of time.

Inter finished runners-up to Juventus for the Serie A title recently. Their season is still alive as they face Getafe in the one-legged round of 16 tie of the Europa League on Wednesday night.

They are regarded as one of the favourites to reach the final alongside Manchester United. It remains to be seen whether they can live up to the expectations and lift their first major trophy since 2011.

Martinez, who has bagged 19 goals this term, should play a key role alongside Romelu Lukaku in the frontline. The Belgian has enjoyed an excellent maiden campaign with the Nerazzurri with 29 goals on the board.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com