Andre Gomes rejected Juventus to sign for Barcelona this summer

Andre Gomes could have been a Juventus player this summer. Valencia were negotiating with the Italian side when FC Barcelona became an option and the player didn't think twice. Gomes left the idea of leaving Juve behind and moved to Camp Nou, according to Los Che's sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch who spoke to Plaza Deportiva.

Garcia Pitarch said that Valencia were aiming to sign Simone Zaza from Juve, a player who ended up moving to West Ham in the Premier League. "Zaza is a player that this summer we tried to sign but could not do it because his arrival depended on Andre going to Juventus. Andre wanted to go to Barcelona and there ended the three chances of negotiations with Juve, which were Lemina, Hernanes and Zaza."

In the end Gomes joined Barcelona for 35 million euros, the club they also sold Paco Alcacer to. Garcia Pitarch said that he didn't want to let the forward go. "Peter Lim (owner) met with Barcelona, he met with Layhoon (president) and told her the offer. After listening to me, Layhoon decided not to sell. I told Layhoon he was the only No 9 we had and that it was not the moment to sell him socially, because it would signify a problem. There were various meetings, one of them I was at, and Paco along with his agents asked to leave. Anyone who says it differently is lying."