The current sporting director of Al-Ittihad, Ramón Planes, gave an interview to the sports newspaper SPORT. The native of Lérida recalled his past as technical secretary and sporting director of FC Barcelona and made a series of important revelations about his time as a Barça director.

Planes, among other things, explained how close the Barcelona team was to losing the signing of Frenkie de Jong in 2019: "I think we had almost lost Frenkie de Jong, practically lost him. Frenkie called us to inform us that he was signing for Paris Saint-Germain at 7:00 p.m., and there was a very good management by Éric Abidal."

From this, Planes pointed out how they managed to redirect the situation so that the Dutchman ended up wearing the Barça team's jersey: "I remember he called him and we went that same day. We took a plane and went to Amsterdam. We told him: 'Please, hold on. We only ask you for half a day, and if within half a day you want to sign for PSG, do it, but don't sign now.' And we turned it around and Frenkie signed, a great player for Barcelona."

Alexander Isak, the generational replacement for Luis Suárez that never arrived

Likewise, Planes recalled how Barça was very close to signing one of the great strikers of today, Alexander Isak, whom he saw as the ideal replacement for Luis Suárez: "We had been trying for some time to find a replacement in such a complicated position. Now I find it funny when they talk about Isak, who is in some negotiation and with a very important offer from Liverpool. He is a player with whom we were talking to his representative," he began by saying.

But that agreement did not materialize, a matter on which Ramón Planes did not want to delve too deeply: "He was at Real Sociedad and our idea was to look for a replacement for Luis, but one who would be on the bench and gradually come in. And that this change process would be natural. Well, it couldn't be, but I do think it's something key in clubs: knowing that players can leave at the right time and that the entry of new generations is in a clean way," he added.

However, that does not mean that it has not been a thorn in the career of Ramón Planes at FC Barcelona, as he himself acknowledges:

"The case of Isak, a player that I particularly liked a lot. I saw him as a striker with a Barça profile, a very associative striker, a striker with a lot of mobility. I liked him a lot at Real Sociedad."

Darwin Núñez could also have been a Barcelona player: why didn't his signing happen?

After talking about Isak, Planes also provided another important name that was close to the Catalan team and that, for various reasons, did not end up landing at Can Barça:

"At the time we were very, very, very close. But it couldn't be. And also Darwin Núñez. When he was at Almería, I remember talking to Ronald Koeman to incorporate him and do a project very similar to that of Pedri. Sign him for very little money and leave him at Almería. But Benfica came and paid 25 million euros," he emphasized.

Planes defends Ronald Araujo: "One of the best defenders in the world"

Finally, Planes gave his opinion on the case of Ronald Araujo and the rumors that placed him outside the Azulgrana club as a transfer target this summer, showing his disagreement: "What can they transfer, for me, one of the best central defenders in the world at a defensive level? I think Ronald Araujo has brutal defensive conditions and he has already demonstrated it," he argued.

In addition, he recognized the great level of the Uruguayan defender, admitting that he does not understand the exacerbated criticisms towards the Azulgrana '4': "Ronald Araujo has shown in many matches where we have all praised him. He has shut down Vinicius, and he has played great matches. Not just one, but many. He is criticized for supposedly not having the Barça style, and I don't understand it."

In that line of argument, Planes admits that while Araujo may be singled out as a player far from the Barça DNA, his competitive and attitudinal value makes him indispensable: "Barça, with that DNA of playing football, with that DNA of having possession, with that offensive DNA, has always had a player in defense who has had race, who has had hierarchy, who has been defensively different from the rest. And I think Ronald has that potential. I'm sure that if he is well, he can give a lot to Barcelona," he concluded.