Speaking on Que T’hi Jugues of SER Catalunya, Miguel Angel Ramirez, the president of UD Las Palmas, has claimed that there have been no fresh talks with FC Barcelona over the transfer of teenage prodigy Alberto Moleiro.
The La Liga 2 club’s president also confirmed that Barcelona had an agreement in principle with them for Moleiro’s transfer but Fair Play problems led to the move not going through.
The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in Spain. He has been leading Las Palmas’ promotion charge in La Liga 2 this season as he has contributed eight assists in 28 matches.
Moleiro has been on Barcelona’s agenda for some time now. The Catalans held talks to sign him last year and could have closed the deal for a fee of €10 million fixed, plus another €15 million in variables.
But the Blaugrana deemed those demands to be too high and passed up on his signing, while still maintaining an interest in him.
Moleiro then signed a new contract with Las Palmas which consists of a release clause worth €30 million. The value of the clause could double up to €60 million in the summer if the second-division club gain promotion to La Liga, which is looking increasingly likely.
Reports had suggested that Barcelona director Jordi Cruyff had held talks with Las Palmas over a possible move in the summer.
However, Ramirez has quashed those claims, stating that there have been no fresh talks held between the two parties since last summer. He also confirmed that there was an agreement in principle with Barça in the summer but Fair Play blocked the move.
“With Barça there was an agreement in principle last summer but fair play did not allow us to find a solution,” the Las Palmas president said. “Barça like the player but today he is in a showcase where big European and Spanish teams are interested in him.”
“I haven’t met with anyone from Barça recently. The last meeting was in the summer with the Barça president. We have never spoken about Moleiro again,” Ramirez added.
At the same time, the Las Palmas president also confirmed that there are advanced talks with some other clubs, but insisted that nothing was closed yet.
“Right now there are very advanced talks with other entities where the player could possibly end up. There are several teams and I don’t like to talk about specific cases, there are some teams in Spain interested and several in England.”
When asked if Real Madrid were also interested in Moleiro, he added: “He is on the agenda of several. There are big teams beyond Barça and Madrid.”
