Sporting director reveals Barcelona failed pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur star

Back in February 2024, Tottenham Hotspur won the race to sign Lucas Bergvall from Djurgardens – and they beat out Barcelona in the process. It was a late bid from the Premier League side that saw them acquire the teenage midfielder, and since his arrival, he has established himself as an important player.

In his mind, he has justified the decision to snub Barcelona in favour of a move to North London. And this opinion is also shared from Djurgardens sporting director Bosse Andersson, who confirmed the Catalans’ interest during an interview on Carina Bergfelt’s talk show, as per MD.

“Lucas is an interesting and talented footballer. We had the privilege of discussing with one of the biggest football clubs in Europe, Barcelona, who were interested. I think Barcelona were quite surprised (to miss out on signing him), because you don’t go to Barcelona just to look, you go there to have tapas and see if it’s pretty.

“I think they were very disappointed that he chose Tottenham. But the decision itself was the right one because he has become an established Premier League player. All the coaches and everyone talk about him as a fantastic player, and he just turned 19.”

At the time, there was a fair bit of disappointment at Barcelona for missing out on Bergvall, and although he has gone on to establish himself as a Premier League level midfielder at the age of 19, their own in-house midfielders have also played a big role. Marc Casado and Marc Bernal were both elevated to the first team last summer, and they have impressed – the latter only played three competitive fixtures before suffering an ACL injury, but he still made his mark, and Hansi Flick is eagerly awaiting his return to action, which should be at the start of the 2025-26 season.