Barcelona's sporting director has claimed that the club had an agreement in place to sign Paul Pogba after the 2014-15 season.
The 23-year-old became the world's most expensive footballer when he rejoined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of £89m this summer.
Speaking at a news conference at the end of the transfer window, Albert Soler said that Barcelona were in pole position to sign the France international a year ago but did not feel compelled to complete the deal.
"Last year we reached an agreement with Juventus - if they wanted to sell Pogba we would have a priority," Soler told reporters.
"That was the commitment that we had. Juve did not want to sell the player and we didn't have the need to sign him.
"Barcelona has always had a great relationship with Juventus. If we would have wanted to do the deal, nobody could advance us."
The Blaugrana have signed six players this summer - Paco Alcacer, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez and Jasper Cillessen.
Giuseppe Labellarte
