La Liga champions Barcelona turned down the chance to sign Martinelli – who is now thriving with Premier League powerhouses Arsenal.
Barcelona have been left red-faced by their failure to sign Gabriel Martinelli in January of this year with the Brazilian wonderkid making a sensational start to life at Arsenal, according to Mundo Deportivo.
With Nicolas Pepe, David Luiz and Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos all arriving at the Emirates over the summer, a £6 million deal to bring Martinelli to North London from FC Ituano understandably went under the radar.
But, three months into the 2019/20 season, the teenager has comfortably been the most impressive of any of Arsenal’s new signings.
Martinelli has scored a remarkable seven goals in just nine appearances for The Gunners so far with his clinical brace in the thrilling 5-5 EFL Cup clash with Liverpool leading Jurgen Klopp to crown him ‘one of the talents of the century’.
The 18-year-old has netted far more goals than fellow Brazilians Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Adriano and Neymar managed in their first seven games in European football with only the legendary Ronaldo Nazario enjoying such an explosive start on the continent.
No wonder Barcelona have their heads in their hands.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Martinelli trained with Barca’s youth teams 10 months ago but, for whatever reason, the Catalan kings decided against offering him a contract. They are regretting that already, the report claims, with Martinelli’s price tag haven risen substantially in just a few weeks as an Arsenal player.
But considering that Barca have stolen so many of Arsenal’s star players in recent years, with the Cesc Fabregas saga still in everyone’s minds, don’t expect much sympathy in North London.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
