Barcelona Board Keen to Rival Liverpool for Thiago Alcantara
By Tom Gott
Barcelona are interested in re-signing Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcántara, who is also wanted by Liverpool.
The 29-year-old, who has one year remaining on his contract, came through the Barcelona academy and made 100 appearances for La Blaugrana before following manager Pep Guardiola over to Germany in 2013.
His time with Bayern is expected to come to an end this summer, with Liverpool leading the race for his signature. However, Bild have thrown a spanner in the works by suggesting that Barça are ready to rival Jürgen Klopp's side.
However, it's all still a little complicated. While there is a preference among the Barcelona board to land Thiago, manager Ronald Koeman would prefer to strike a deal for Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum - which would in turn allow the Reds to sign Thiago.
Club chiefs are said to have put pressure on Koeman to change his priorities and are even believed to have reached out to Thiago already to discuss a possible return. That claim has, however, been rejected by Mundo Deportivo.
The idea of Barça contacting Thiago in the near future is not ruled out, however, suggesting that there may well be some interest from the La Liga side.
Christian Falk has revealed that Thiago has been given extra time off from training and will not be present for medical tests at Bayern on Monday, sparking even more speculation of an imminent exit.
Bayern and Barcelona have a great relationship stemming from the loan of Philippe Coutinho last season, although the recent 8-2 drubbing by the German side may well make things a little uncomfortable for a while.
That positive relationship may work against Liverpool, who are believed to be hesitating to pull the trigger on a move for Thiago until Wijnaldum is sold.
If the Barcelona board get their wish and convince Koeman to pursue Thiago over Wijnaldum, the suggestion is that they may be able to pursue the Spaniard unopposed as Liverpool would not be prepared to lodge a rival bid.
There has also been speculative links between Thiago and Manchester United, although after completing the signing of Donny van de Beek, the Reds Devils' focus is back on landing Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.