Barcelona could not compete financially with Chelsea for the signing of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, according to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Chelsea confirmed the signing of Koulibaly last weekend in a deal worth a reported £33.8million (€40m), bringing an end to the defender's eight-year stay in Naples.
LaLiga heavyweights Barca, whose financial problems have been well documented over the past year, also had an interest in the Senegal international.
However, De Laurentiis claims the Catalan club could not meet Napoli's valuation for Koulibaly, who was into the final year of his contract at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
"Barcelona had come in, but they didn't have the money because they are in debt," he told Radio Kiss Kiss. "Then Chelsea came forward and we couldn't say no."
Koulibaly helped Napoli to three second-place finishes in Serie A and to Coppa Italia glory in 2020, as well as winning the Supercoppa Italiana shortly after he arrived in Italy.
Since joining the club in 2014, no defender in the Italian top flight has won more tackles than Koulibaly (344), or made more successful passes (14,528).
De Laurentiis revealed Napoli offered the 31-year-old an improved contract in an attempt to fend off Chelsea.
"I let Koulibaly go because he asked me to. I tried in every possible way to keep him, offering €6million per season net," De Laurentiis said.
"But if a player wants a new experience at a prestigious club, in the biggest league in the world, you have to recognise what he's given you and not put up walls."
Koulibaly made 236 Serie A appearances for Napoli, including 27 as the Partenopei finished third last season.
Girona 0-1 Villarreal: Traore strike lifts Yellow Submarine
Bertrand Traore's goal gave Villarreal a 1-0 win at Girona on Tuesday that prevented the hosts from reclaiming second spot in LaLiga.
Girona, who have enjoyed a superb campaign, are third with 75 points, trailing Barcelona, who moved a point clear with a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Monday.
Alexander Sorloth and Goncalo Guedes went close for Villarreal in the first half, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was in fine form.
Traore broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after latching on to a superb pass from Guedes, however.
Viktor Tsyhankov, Savio and Artem Dovbyk all went close for Girona, but could not find the back of Filip Jorgensen's net.
Villarreal were reduced to 10 men in the 95th minute after Kiko Femenia was sent off for a second yellow card after a push on Aleix Garcia.
Data Debrief: Rare home loss for Girona
Girona have suffered only their second defeat at Montilivi in LaLiga this season, following a 0-3 loss to Real Madrid in September.
The home side attempted 749 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in LaLiga this season.
Postecoglou rues missed chances against City as Son squanders decisive opportunity
Ange Postecoglou was left to rue missed chances as Tottenham's Champions League hopes were ended after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Spurs needed three points to take the Premier League's top-four race to the final day but were undone by Pep Guardiola's side, who moved within touching distance of another top-flight title.
Erling Haaland's routine tap-in from Kevin De Bruyne's brilliance after 51 minutes proved a cruel blow before the City striker's stoppage-time penalty sealed a decisive three points.
It could have been a different story, though, if Stefan Ortega – on as a second-half substitute for Ederson – did not deny Heung-min Son's gilt-edged chance following Manuel Akanji's error.
The City goalkeeper denied the onrushing Spurs forward when one-on-one with the visitors 1-0 up, and Postecoglou acknowledged his side failed to seize their opportunities.
"We lost the game so it was a missed chance for three points," the frustrated Tottenham manager told Sky Sports.
"We had the opportunities and we had to punish them. It was a tight game and in the big moments we were not able to capitalise and they were.
"I thought we were in the game the whole time, even at 1-0 we had a great chance to go level.
"In the second half we were chasing the game so they got a little more space but I thought we were well in it up until that point [the second goal]."
Spurs' loss proved Aston Villa's gain as Unai Emery's side qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, ending a 41-year absence after last featuring in the European Cup in 1982-83.
Postecoglou found it hard to seek the immediate positives, having watched Tottenham fall short and inadvertently damage rivals Arsenal's title hopes in the process.
"We lost the game so I am disappointed," the Australian added, before responding to whether any pride could be taken.
"Not right now because we have lost. We will assess the season, still one more game to go, one more game against Sheffield United and we need to make sure we win.
"I think wherever you finish is a fair reflection of where you are at."
Tottenham will finish outside the top four for the fourth time in the last five seasons, after finishing in the Champions League spots in Mauricio Pochettino’s final four full campaigns in charge (2015-16 to 2018-19).
Postecoglou acknowledged there is still work to do to catch up with England's perennial champions City.
Asked how his side measure up to Guardiola's men, he said: Nothing earth-shattering that I didn't know before the game. We still have some work to do. We need to do some work to catch up."
Real Madrid 5-0 Alaves: Vinicius double continues LaLiga champions party
Vinicius Junior scored twice as newly-crowned LaLiga champions Real Madrid thrashed visitors Alaves 5-0 on Tuesday, after the hosts had paraded the trophy in front of the home fans before the game.
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius scored a goal each inside 30 minutes before Federico Valverde put Los Blancos 3-0 up at the break, unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net in first-half stoppage time.
Vinicius added one more in the 70th minute from a precise cross by Bellingham that the Brazilian fired into the top corner, and substitute Arda Guler completed the scoring with a low finish.
Carlo Ancelotti's side travel to Villarreal on Sunday before hosting Real Betis on May 25 ahead of their Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
Having thrashed Granada 4-0 on Saturday and Cadiz 3-0, either side of their Champions League semi-final victory over Bayern, Real are firing on all fronts heading into the Wembley Stadium showpiece.
Meanwhile, Alavez remain 11th in the table heading into their next game against Getafe at home on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Madrid capitalise on opportunities
Madrid found the back of the net five times from just 2.47 expected goals (xG), suggesting Los Blancos' finishing quality was far greater than Alaves' 1.28 xG.
Ancelotti's side have now kept 20 clean sheets in 36 LaLiga games this campaign, their most in a single season in the competition's history (19 in the 1986-87, 1987-88 and 2019-20 seasons).
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