Las Palmas' Mauricio Lemos explains why he turned down Barcelona
The Uruguayan defender was one of the Catalan club's targets during the summer
One of Barcelona's options to strengthen their defence in the summer was Mauricio Lemos, the Uruguayan centre-back who's played for Las Palmas since last season. There were talks between all three parties, although a deal never came to fruition and the player, who made his first appearance of the season against Malaga at the weekend, has explained why the transfer didn't happen.
"While we’re talking about one of the best teams in the world [Barcelona], at 20 I was not going to get minutes. I think the best option was to stay with Las Palmas. Anything can happen in football, you never know how much time you’re going to get to improve. At the moment I’m just thinking about Las Palmas, nothing more, and having as good a season as possible," Lemos revealed.
In fact, the defender says he never thought about leaving the Canary Island club: "I tried to be calm and enjoy my time with my family. I was clear that I wanted to stay with Las Palmas. I’m still here, I never thought of leaving. When I signed I said that I’d stay for the necessary time to grow and improve. Las Palmas is the perfect place to continue growing."
