Barcelona abandon plans to sign Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri

Jean Michael Seri insists he has not played his last game for Nice with reports in Spain now suggesting Barcelona have ended their interest in signing the midfielder this summer.

Seri, 26, has a release cause of €40m (£36.8m) written into his contract at the Ligue 1 side with reports over the weekend suggesting the move would be completed after their Champions League play-off against Napoli on Tuesday (22 August).

Nice were comprehensively beaten on their own turf in that second-leg clash, falling to a 4-0 aggregate defeat but speaking after the match, Seri insisted he was not on the brink of leaving for the Nou Camp.

"We will see about my future, but I don't believe this was my last game for Nice," he told reporters after the defeat, ESPN report. "If it happens with Barcelona, that is good, otherwise I am happy at Nice."

But according to Mundo Deportivo, a move for the Ivory Coast international is now off completely. A latest report from the Catalan publication states Barcelona and Nice had been negotiating a transfer fee as recently as yesterday only for the club's technical managers to change their mind last night over what they describe as "technical matters."

An announcement had been expected to be made today (Wednesday 23 August) before last night's decision to pull the plug on the deal and instead focus on other targets - namely Borussia Dortmund winger Ousmane Dembele - despite having also agreed a four-year deal with the player.

It is the latest twist in what has been a summer of chaos for the Catalan giants, where they are still to bring in a replacement for Neymar following his £198m move to Paris Saint-Germain, with just a week of the transfer window remaining.

The club have seen three bids for Liverpool schemer Philippe Coutinho rejected, while they have been told they must pay an eye-watering €130m to sign Dortmund winger Dembele.

Their failure to act during a pivotal summer for the club has also raised questions as to whether Lionel Messi will choose to renew his contract at the Nou Camp, with his current deal set to expire next summer.

And to contribute to the current malaise, Barcelona's official social media accounts were taken over by hacking group OurMine in the early hours of Wednesday morning, falsely announcing the signing of former Real Madrid and Manchester United star Angel di Maria.