Sandro Ramirez, linked with Spurs, shares why his January move to England was blocked

Follow us on Google Discover

Tottenham-linked Sandro Ramirez has commented on how he was prevented from making a January move to England.

Sandro Ramirez celebrates a goal

Malaga forward Sandro Ramirez has told Spanish newspaper AS that he did have intereste from English clubs in January, but Barcelona prevented him from leaving.

Sandro, 21, joined the Barcelona setup back in 2009 at the age of just 14, having come up through the ranks with his hometown club Las Palmas.

Sandro Ramirez celebrates a goal against Villanovense’s Pablo Abel Moraga (R)

After 15 goals in 61 games for Barcelona ‘B’, the attacker – who can play up front or out wide, was promoted to the Barcelona first team in 2014, but he found first-team football hard to come by.

With Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez all at Barcelona’s disposal, Sandro ended up playing just 32 games in two years for the Barca first team, scoring seven goals before he was allowed to leave over the past summer.

Sandro Ramirez celebrates after scoring for Barcelona

Sandro was freed up and chose to join Malaga, and after three goals and one assist in nine games for the La Liga side, he has spoken of how he was prevented from making a move to England in January.

Catalan newspaper Sport reported in January that Tottenham Hotspur were keen to land Sandro, and even spoke directly to the player about penning a four-and-a-half year contract at White Hart Lane.

However, Spurs refused to hand Barcelona a buy-back clause in the deal, and the move fell apart before it ever really got going – and Sandro has now opened up on the situation.

Sandro Ramirez celebrates with Xavi

Sandro admitted that he had interest from England, believed to be from Tottenham, telling AS that Barcelona blocked his move, before he jumped at the chance to join Malaga over the summer.

“The interest from England was in January,” said Sandro. “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,” he added.

Would you have liked to see Tottenham sign Sandro?