In 2012 the Catalans could have signed him from Sporting but opted for other players instead
The name Gelson Martins (11/05/95) is in fashion after his fine performance for Sporting against Real Madrid. Martins was part of the Portuguese side's youth system in 2010, after previously playing in the youth categories at Benfica briefly. At one stage Barcelona could have been his future but the Blaugrana went a different way.
In the summer of 2012, Sporting were having an economic crisis and owed Barcelona a payment for the transfer of Jeffren Suarez. It was nearly a million euros and they could not pay it except through players. Barcelona accepted the solution and looked at Sporting's academy for players they wanted. The club's sporting directors, led by Narcis Julia, chose Edgar Ie and Agostinho Ca. They could have gone for Gelson, or Joao Mario, who this summer signed for Inter Milan for 40m euros.
