Besiktas president revealed failed attempt to sign Barcelona star

Barcelona did not do any business during the 2025 winter transfer window, but that may not have been the case had certain circumstances not played out the way that they did.

They had been keen to sign Marcus Rashford on loan, but because Ansu Fati did not leave, a deal with Manchester United was deemed to be impossible. It was reported at the time that the Spain international did not want to leave, but these claims have now been refuted in Türkiye.

As per Diario AS, Besiktas president Serdal Adalı has revealed that his club were very close to signing Fati during the winter transfer window, but their untimely exit from the Europa League ended their chances of getting a deal done.

“Ansu Fati was on our agenda, as were Patrick Berg and Samuel Dahl. After the Europa League match against Twente, my intention was to bring Fati to Istanbul. We had even reached an agreement with Barcelona for his transfer. However, on the night of the elimination we were told that he would not finally come. The player was very excited, he had already contacted his father. But our European elimination ruined the signings.”

Adalı also confirmed reports that Besiktas were interested in signing Alexander Sorloth, but Atletico Madrid did not allow the Norwegian striker to leave because they would not have been able to sign a replacement before the winter transfer window came to a close.

“Signing Sorloth seemed practically impossible. They do not have a clear alternative in their team. Do you think I didn’t talk to him? I did it in winter. Now there are no contacts. At Atletico we have good relations, but if you call them and ask for the player, they will tell you: ‘and which striker do we play with then?’”