Tottenham star claims Barcelona snubbed deal to sign him

Tottenham defender Serge Aurier has claimed he came close to securing a move to Barcelona in the summer.

The Ivory Coast right-back joined Spurs from PSG in the summer as a replacement for Kyle Walker but things could have been very different for the 24-year-old.

According to a report in Four Four Two, Tottenham were not Aurier’s first choice and he was in ‘very advanced negotiations’ to join the Catalan giants before they decided against the switch due to the player’s reputation.

“I think my reputation made four or five big European sides afraid,” Aurier told French news association Canal Plus.

“I was negotiating with Barcelona, very advanced negotiations. And Barcelona’s people were not sure if I came here things would be different.”

Barca, however, tell a different story and have denied that a meeting with the defender ever took place.

“We never sat down with the player or his representative, they wanted to sit down with us but we never did anything,” a Barcelona spokesperson said.

Aurier, who has had on and off field issues, has had a mixed life to start in north London but seems to have earned the trust of Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettinho, who has rotated the Ivory Coast star with Kieran Trippier so far this season.

“It was the right choice (to leave),’ Aurier added. “After a while, I did not feel comfortable with the media.

“For me, it was never going to end. After a while, I felt like a prisoner, with a camera on my back.

“By staying in France, I would have never washed this image.”

Like our dedicated Tottenham Facebook page.