Exclusive: Barcelona tried snatching De Vrij from Inter
De Vrij has been one of Inter's best players so far this season and Antonio Conte considers the Dutchman to be one of his irreplaceable players. De Vrij is set to start for Inter in the club's second Champions League game against Barcelona tomorrow.
Our correspondent Fabrizio Romano understands that Stefan de Vrij is certainly the player that Barça has long tried to take at different times.
When De Vrij's contract at Lazio had expired, Barca had tried to convince the player into coming to the Nou Camp. But De Vrij was insistent on playing regular football and thought Inter would be a better destination.
This June, Barca also held talks with Inter for De Vrij and even considered making a concrete and important offer. They were keen on giving Ernesto Valverde a technically sound defender and they believed De Vrij was that man.
But Antonio Conte said 'no' to any deals for De Vrij. He had a list of players who would be crucial to his style at the nerazzurri, even though Barca were keen on breaking the 50 million euros wall that Inter had put up.