Two of the loudest transfer stories of the summer somehow slipped through with barely a rumour. Barcelona pulled Rodri out of Manchester City and Anthony Gordon out of Newcastle without either move leaking properly.
Now Deco has walked through the reasoning behind that wall of silence.
The Portuguese sporting director spoke to Spanish daily SPORT and made no apology for the club’s media strategy.
“We have a closed working group. If it were up to the press, we’d sign 50 players,” he said.
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Barcelona confirmed the £65.4m signing of Rodri from Manchester City on August 18, tying the 30-year-old midfielder to a four-year deal. Gordon had already arrived from Newcastle in May in a £69m deal, signing a five-year contract. Neither operation was broken open by transfer reporters before the club was ready to announce.
Gordon signed to fix an intensity issue
The Gordon deal was framed around a specific tactical problem: Barcelona’s drop in intensity when Raphinha was unavailable. Deco said the recruitment team had worked through a long list of candidates before settling on the England forward.
“We needed more intensity. We analysed lots of wingers,” he told SPORT.
“Gordon was very keen to be part of the project. We paid his market value.”
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Rodri arrival caught Barcelona by surprise
If Gordon was planned, Rodri was not. The Spain international’s move was not on Barcelona’s radar until relatively late in the process, according to Deco.
“A few months ago, we hadn’t even considered it. We didn’t think he’d leave City,” he said.
Rodri was courted by Real Madrid before choosing Barcelona, but Deco declined to speak for the player on that decision.
“You’ll have to ask him about that,” he said.
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The 30-year-old started in midfield as Barcelona thrashed Feyenoord 5-1 at the Spotify Camp Nou on September 9 in their Champions League opener, with Raphinha scoring twice and Lamine Yamal adding a free-kick.
