Barcelona tried to sign Cedric Bakambu at the beginning of last year, but pulled out of the transfer with the forward in the middle of his trip from Spain.
The La Liga giants had reportedly agreed a deal with Chinese club Beijing Guoan to take Bakambu on loan for the rest of the season in January 2020.
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The Congolese international had to catch two flights to reach Spain as he was in South Korea.
Bakambu had made it to Hong Kong before receiving a phone call from Barca's Sporting Director Eric Abidal.
Abidal explained that the deal was off, and Bakambu took to Twitter to poke fun at the situation.
Bakambu tweeted statistics website Transfermarkt to ask if he could have 'Almost Barcelona' in his transfer history.
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The site replied in good humour and sent an edited page with Barcelona in the 28-year-old's list of clubs.
He also tagged Blaugrana forward Antoine Griezmann and said he would 'see him another time'.
The duo played together at youth level in the French national team.
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Instead of Bakambu the club went on to sign Danish international Martin Braithwaite from fellow La Liga side Leganes, which may have been an even more surprising signing.
In the past the likes of Bakambu and Braithwaite would hardly have been linked with a super club like Barca, with all due respect, but it's clear why the side have had to shop for 'bargains' more recently.
On Monday the club's latest financial report revealed the extent of the issues at the Nou Camp, showing the club in €1.2 billion in debt.
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