Barcelona are not negotiating deals for Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar or Inter forward Lautaro Martinez, according to LaLiga president Javier Tebas.
The LaLiga giants have been linked with Neymar and Martinez all throughout this season with various reports claiming that they could make a move to sign both – or at least one – of the stars.
However, Tebas played down the rumours, saying Barca had other priorities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s not true that Barca are currently in negotiation processes in the signing of these two players,” he told the Adea Conecta forum on Friday (h/t AS).
“They are most focused on when the season can resume as opposed to new acquisitions. There will be swap deals in the short-term future, but transfers are not high on the priority of European clubs at present.
“They want to limit the damage caused by the halt in activity, but everything is still on hold. No Neymar nor Lautaro, these names are not high on the priority list at present for Barca. The club at present don’t have the capacity to make these signings, at present it’s completely impossible.”
Last week, Barcelona boss Quique Setien admitted that signing Martinez this summer might prove difficult because of the financial impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
He said, “We talk about transfers, but this pandemic is going to condition many things. The situation of the clubs will be economically complicated. I’m not optimistic or pessimistic about Lautaro Martinez. I like Lautaro a lot, he’s a great footballer but the truth is I’m not getting too excited by any players right now due to the situation we find ourselves in.”
The LaLiga season was suspended last month due to coronavirus, which has killed more than 22,500 people in Spain.
