Joan Laporta reveals Marcus Rashford was always Barcelona's top target

In an exclusive interview with Mundo Deportivo, Laporta confirmed that Rashford's signing, finalised on Wednesday, was the priority for the Catalan giants, despite interest in Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams.

Williams, who recently extended his contract with Athletic until 2035, saw his release clause soar by over 50% from its previous 58 million euros figure. Laporta explained that Williams' agent approached Barcelona with an offer, but the club were already deep in negotiations for Rashford.

"The signing of Luis Diaz was tricky, and we were in the thick of talks for Marcus Rashford when Nico Williams' agent came to us with an opportunity," Laporta said.

The Barcelona chief admitted that sporting director Deco urged the club to consider Williams' proposal. "Deco told me we should hear the agent out. My initial preference was Luis Diaz or Marcus Rashford, but I trust our sporting department, and they felt we needed to explore the option," Laporta added.

However, the pursuit of Williams fell through for the second year running. Laporta revealed that the deal collapsed due to disagreements over payment terms and agent fees.

"There was a big gap between what we were told and the final demands, including payment schedules and the agent's commission. It became clear the deal wouldn't happen," he said.

Barcelona set a firm deadline for negotiations. "Deco gave them 48 hours to accept our terms. When they didn't, we pulled the plug," Laporta concluded.