Ajax Amsterdam defender rejects Barcelona due to Lionel Messi

Barcelona are trying to strengthen their backline. Having already signed Frenkie de Jong, they want another one of Ajax Amsterdam’s best players.

Barcelona have already completed one raid on Ajax Amsterdam, thanks to the signing of midfielder Frenkie de Jong. The Netherlands international will be arriving in Catalonia to start proceedings for the 2019/20. Following de Jong’s arrival, Barcelona have already shown interest in purchasing Matthijs de Ligt. While negotiations with the Ajax captain have now curbed a bit, Barcelona are exploring other talents, such as Nicolas Tagliafico.

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The Ajax Amsterdam left back has made a name for himself in Europe within a year of arriving from South American giants Independiente. Having now proven himself with one of the biggest prospects of 2018/19, Tagliafico wants to move to one of the top five European leagues with his club labelling him with a price tag of 20 million euros. The likes of Liverpool, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have all been linked with him, whereas Real Madrid are rumoured to have as well.

Tagliafico sees himself being second to Andrew Robertson at Liverpool and hence, feels that he must not head to England. The Scottish full back is one of the best in the Premier League and should be able to bench Tagliafico pretty much every weekend. In addition to that, Tagliafico prefers Spain because of the absence of a language barrier due to his Argentine roots. But he has said no to Barcelona.

The Argentina international is not a big fan of the influence of Lionel Messi on the matters at Barcelona. Moreover, his compatriot and Barcelona’s captain prefers and does not want any competition for Jordi Alba. Secondly, Tagliafico’s place is reserved on the bench it seems, particularly because of Lionel Messi’s influencing of Barcelona’s starting elevens, transfer decisions and nearly every other matter.

Therefore, all signs point towards Tagliafico heading to Atletico Madrid. The Rojiblancos are expected to sell Lucas Hernandez to Bayern Munich, whereas Filipe Luis could be heading to one of Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain. That said, Diego Simeone’s team will have to refill its left hand side, so Tagliafico will be the perfect fit there for only 20 million euros.

Would Nicolas Tagliafico have been a good fit at Barcelona had he signed?