Barcelona president Joan Laporta has denied claims that teenage forward Ansu Fati was offered to Premier League rivals Manchester United and Manchester City this summer.
The 59-year-old revealed last month that the La Liga giants are a staggering £1.15bn in debt and have been ordered to reduce their wage bill in order to comply with financial fair play regulations.
Because of their extreme financial problems, the club were unable to keep hold of talisman Lionel Messi, while other key players including Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have agreed to take significant wage cuts.
Barcelona were also keen to offload several first-team players this summer to balance their books and were able to sell the likes of Emerson Royal to Tottenham Hotspur and allow Antoine Griezmann to return to Atletico Madrid.
However, Laporta was adamant that 18-year-old Fati – who has been handed the number 10 shirt following Messi's departure – was "never put up for sale" by the club this summer.
"Another thing is that it appeared in a newspaper that an English club was going to make an offer. This offer never came. Ansu was brave because he accepted the '10', but he only accepted it if the captains gave him the green light," Laporta told Cadena SER.
Fati, who is yet to feature for Barca this campaign, missed the majority of last season with a serious knee injury but was still able to notch up five goals and four assists in 10 appearances across all competitions.
Oliver Thomas
