Barcelona are said to have told Juan Cuadrado they are no longer interested in signing him as he is reluctant to play at right-back.
Mundo Deportivo report Barca have passed the message on to the Fiorentina winger after Luis Enrique identified Colombia international Cuadrado as the man to replace Dani Alves.
But Alves is staying at Barca for at least another year and Cuadrado wasn’t convinced about moving into defence, wanting instead to remain as a forward player, which he is for club and country.
Cuadrado’s reluctance and Alves’ stay pushed Barca to look at other options and last night the club confirmed the signing of Douglas from Sao Paulo.
The path to signing Cuadrado was left clear by Manchester United’s move for Real Madrid’s Angel Di Maria, MD add, and Barca were on Monday asked to make their interest official with an offer.
Cuadrado was keen to make the move to Camp Nou and would have turned down United as they’re not in the Champions League this season, while he had also reached an agreement with the Fiorentina higher-ups to be allowed to leave.
It’s also felt that with Alves staying at Barca, the club cannot afford to have Cuadrado’s wages on the payroll, and so have been forced to end their interest.