Barcelona starlet Marc Cucurella snubs Manchester City to sign new deal at Nou Camp
KEY POINTS
- The 18-year-old was set to become a free agent this summer.
- Borussia Dortmund were also reportedly interested in luring him to the Bundesliga.
Barcelona starlet Marc Cucurella has reportedly agreed a new four-year deal with the La Liga giants after rejecting overtures from Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. The 18-year-old left-back was out of contract this summer but has decided to commit his long-term future to the Nou Camp by signing a new deal that expires in 2021.
Cucurella was brought to the prestigious La Masia academy in 2012 from Espanyol. The left-back has since progressed through the youth ranks of the club until establishing himself in the second team during the latter part of the 2016-17 campaign.
However, his future at Barcelona has been under question in recent times as he was set to become into a free agent at the end of the current month.
In April The Mirror reported Manchester City were closely monitoring the situation as Pep Guardiola wanted to recruit young options at the back in this transfer window – having released Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna.
Reports in Spain have since claimed Dortmund are also ready to take advantage of the situation to lure him to the Bundesliga as a free agent.
However, Sport is now reporting the Spain U19 international has rejected the "interesting" approaches from City and Dortmund to sign a new four-year deal at Barcelona.
The Spanish publication claims the Catalans have been forced to react to the interest from Guardiola and Dortmund by giving the left-back a "very attractive" new deal, both in terms of finance and his role in the wider Barcelona project.
The teenager is currently focused on helping Barcelona B secure promotion to the second division of Spanish football, but Sport suggests he will put pen to paper on the new deal next week.
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