Joan Laporta has refused to deny claims that Barcelona were offered the chance to sign wantaway Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has made it clear that he wishes to leave Old Trafford this summer in search of Champions League football. That is something that Barca are able to offer, with the La Liga giants at one point considered one of his potential destinations.
Instead though, the Catalan side brought in Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds to boost their attack. That all but sank a possible move for Ronaldo, who remains at the Red Devils despite his demands to be allowed to depart.
Those moves have not stopped some suggesting that Barca could have made a move to sign the Portuguese superstar though. And Laporta has now refused to deny that he could have sensationally brought Ronaldo to the Nou Camp.
"Well, this type of story is all within the process of the summer window. There always appears a lot of news. But in the end the truth is we wanted Lewandowski," he told CBS Sports when asked about the links with Ronaldo.
"We have a very good relationship with Jorge Mendes. I have known him for a long time. He is one of the best player agents. He knows how to do his job and I respect him. In this case, we decided to go for Lewandowski and knew he was crucial to our success.
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"So we went to Bayern instead. This is the reality. The other [Ronaldo] topic is just part of the 'little history' of football. It's a very nice story, but you will always hear lots of contradictory news about it."
When asked to confirm if he ever considered making a move for Ronaldo, Laporta held firm against making any statement. He said: "We got Lewandowski. He was our main target and I prefer not to comment further."
Ronaldo is still available having so far failed to find a new club, with the attacker set to make his first appearance of pre-season on Sunday. And Laporta clearly holds him in high stead, having hailed him as he discussed his future.
"Ronaldo is a very good professional and he's still so fit. He's a player who is very ambitious and competitive and I am sure he has a lot of options. He's still a player of Manchester United, an extraordinary club who I respect very much. His future is not my business. It's the business of Manchester United and Cristiano," Laporta added.
While any hopes Barca fans have over a move for Ronaldo now look to be over this summer, Laporta's praise potentially keeps the door open to a future move. He will be out of contract at United next season and so available on a free transfer.
But having made five signings, including Lewandowski and Raphinha, Laporta's attention is now turning towards moving players out of the Nou Camp. Barca desperately need to raise funds in order to register their new arrivals, but so far that has proven to be difficult.
