Ramon Planes, former Barcelona sporting director, has revealed that his current club Getafe were interested in signing Alejandro Balde on loan this summer.
"I have a very good relationship with his family. We paid very close attention this summer. We followed the Marcos Alonso saga. I took advantage of this personal relationship to tell him [Balde] that we liked him a lot," Planes has said, as quoted by Diario Sport.
"There was a possibility that Barca - as they did with Nico and Abde - would look to loan the player out so that he gets more minutes. But everything changed in the end.
"It is true that the situation around Alonso had a lot to do with it. With Marcos and Jordi Alba, Xavi had two great full-backs. But Xavi wanted to bet on Balde. He played very well during the Gamper Trophy and the coach realized that Balde was in great form."
The 19-year-old is having a breakthrough season, being Xavi's preferred option at left-back ahead of veterans Alonso and Alba. The coach trusts Alejandro so much that he even used him on the opposite flank.
This season, Balde has played 1,140 minutes across 16 matches (13 starts) for Barca, providing two assists.
