Las Palmas president reveals Barcelona made January approach for 25-year-old defender

Las Palmas president reveals Barcelona made January approach for 25-year-old defender Barcelona have sold a number of talented La Masia players in recent seasons while retaining future buyback options or percentages to protect themselves for the future. While they have not always used these levers to bring players back to the club, it has emerged that they came close to doing so in January. Barça came close to bringing former academy defender Mika Marmol back to the club, according to Las Palmas president Miguel Angel Ramirez. Speaking on the Helado Oscuro podcast, as quoted by AS , Ramirez revealed that Barça wanted to sign the 25-year-old and were prepared to pay €5 million to complete the deal before eventually changing their plans. Barcelona considered bringing Marmol back Marmol came through Barcelona’s youth system before eventually joining Andorra. He moved to Las Palmas in 2023 under an arrangement that allowed the Canary Islands club to sign him without a transfer fee, while Barça retained 50 percent of the proceeds from any future sale. Mika Marmol could have secured a return to Barcelona last January. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images) That agreement made a possible return particularly interesting. Marmol had a €10 million release clause, meaning Barcelona’s retained percentage effectively put them in a position to bring him back for around €5 million. The possibility became serious enough that Las Palmas believed a transfer could happen in January. However, Barcelona ultimately decided against proceeding with the operation. Ramirez suggested the change of direction also left Marmol confused because the defender was aware Barça had been interested in negotiating his return. Barça ultimately chose another direction Marmol remained with Las Palmas for the rest of the campaign before leaving for Feyenoord during the summer. Marmol has now moved to Feyenoord after a successful spell at Las Palmas. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) The former La Masia defender has since crossed paths with Barcelona again , featuring for the Dutch club against Hansi Flick’s side in the opening round of this season’s Champions League. Marmol’s familiarity with the club, ability to operate at centre-back or left-back and relatively affordable price would have made the move understandable. There was also limited financial risk considering Barcelona’s existing rights over his transfer. However, it feels like Barça eventually settled on Joao Cancelo on loan. Marmol has now moved to the Netherlands to take the next step in his career, and it remains to be seen whether he is linked again with a Barça move in the coming seasons.