Ilaix Moriba’s father has revealed that he has canceled his son’s flight to Manchester City so the teenager can stay with Barcelona.
Moriba, now 19, storm into Ronald Koeman’s team in 2019 and was tipped for a bright future with the Catalans.
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However, he chose to leave the Camp Nou in 2021 and went to RB Leipzig for around £16 million after an argument over his contract.
But Moriba came close to Pep Guardiola at City two years ago when doubts arose over a Barca deal in 2019.
The Spanish youth international, who now plays for Guinea, had even booked a plane ticket to the Etihad when he was looking for his first professional contract.
However, Moriba’s father Mamady Kourouma canceled the ticket on the morning of the flight after a breakthrough in contract talks with Barça.
He told Sport: “The negotiations with Barcelona did not go any further. We met Txiki Begiristain [City’s sporting director] and he explained us his whole project.
“We liked it because they bet a lot on him. A few weeks later we had the tickets to travel to Manchester and sign the contract.
“I canceled it the morning we were supposed to go there. I wanted Ilaix to be an example and reference for the next generations of Barcelona.
“His friends were gone. If he stayed, it was proof that Barca were betting on the youth players. We managed to reach an agreement where we all came out on top.”
Indeed, Barcelona proved their determination to retain Moriba, making him the highest paid player in their academy’s history, as they handed him a £90million escape clause.
It was thought that Manchester United were eager to sign him as the long-term replacement for Paul Pogba.
While Chelsea would also keep their finger on the pulse with N’Golo Kante not getting any younger.
However, he chose to continue his development in the Bundesliga.