Marc Cucurella Reveals the Truth About Barcelona Interest
Marc Cucurella has played down reports that Barcelona made a serious attempt to sign him during the summer, insisting that the Catalan club’s interest never progressed beyond initial contact with his agent.
The Spanish defender eventually joined Real Madrid in a €55 million deal, with a further €5 million potentially available through performance-related bonuses.
Since arriving at the Bernabéu, Cucurella has established himself as José Mourinho’s preferred left-back, moving ahead of Álvaro Carreras in the pecking order.
Barcelona Interest Never Became Serious
Barcelona had been mentioned as one of the clubs monitoring Cucurella during the transfer window.
The Catalan side were reportedly considering options at left-back amid uncertainty surrounding Alejandro Balde, with Cucurella viewed as one of the possible candidates.
However, the defender has now dismissed the idea that Barça made a genuine attempt to bring him back.
Speaking to COPE, Cucurella explained that his agent did receive calls from Barcelona, but the conversations never developed into concrete negotiations.
“No, no, no. My agent received a few calls, but it didn’t go any further than that.”
He added that he would not describe those conversations as serious interest from Barcelona.
“I don’t think that can be considered genuine interest.”
📲💭 ¿Intentó @cucurella3 que Rodri Hernández fichase por el @RealMadrid? 🙄 "Le mandé un mensaje SUTIL antes de que se supiera..." 😌🫂 "Me hubiese GUSTADO que fuese mi compañero en el Real Madrid" 👀‼️La ENTREVISTA COMPLETA a CUCURELLA en #ElLarguero a partir de las 23.30h https://t.co/Vc410FTWvM
— El Larguero (@ellarguero) September 23, 2026
Cucurella Tried to Influence Rodri's Decision
Cucurella also revealed that he had a very different conversation with Rodri while the midfielder was deciding where to continue his career.
The two Spain internationals discussed Rodri’s options, with Cucurella admitting that he tried to convince his compatriot to choose Real Madrid.
Rodri eventually decided to join Barcelona instead, where he has since become an important part of the midfield alongside Pedri.
Cucurella joked about the situation, admitting that while he is pleased for his teammate, Rodri’s success could create problems for Madrid.
“He said something like, ‘We’ll see.’ I’m happy for him, but I hope he doesn’t have too much success because that would mean the end of ours.”
For Cucurella, the summer ultimately ended with a move to Real Madrid, while Rodri took the opposite path and became a Barcelona player.