Deco confirms Barcelona were close to deal for Bayern player

Barcelona are set to make the centre-back position a priority for the summer transfer window alongside a number nine, but they were close to signing one last season. Director of Football Deco has confirmed reports that a deal was close for Germany defender Jonathan Tah.

Tah, 30, was out of contract at Bayer Leverkusen last summer, and had decided that he would be leaving on a free. Barcelona meanwhile had made a loan offer for him late in the summer transfer window of 2024. As the end of his deal approached though, Barcelona were reportedly in advanced talks to sign him on a free transfer, but in June, a move to Bayern Munich was announced.

Deco confirms talks with Jonathan Tah

Speaking to Sport in an interview, Deco confirms that ‘there were very advanced conversations for Jonathan Tah, and in the end it didn’t happen.’ It seems reports from the spring of 2025 were on the money. The general line was that Tah had agreed a deal in principle with Barcelona, but they did not make a final call on the deal, and Bayern moved for his signature. Instead, the Blaugrana moved for goalkeeper Joan Garcia (€25m), Marcus Rashford on loan (€5m), and Roony Bardghji (€2.6m).

How is Jonathan Tah faring at Bayern Munich?

Arriving in the summer, Tah became an immediate starter at Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany, and has rarely left the line-up. So far he has made 32 appearances, scoring three times and giving two assists, racking up 2,625 minutes in the process. Of those, 30 have been starts, and he has been left on the bench just three times.

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Barcelona are set to search for a central defender this summer, but there is little clarity on what they will be able to spend. Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi is in a similiar contract situation this year, while Josko Gvardiol and Alessandro Bastoni have been mentioned as targets Barcelona might pursue if they had no limitations in terms of salary limit.