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The forward has been strongly linked to the Catalans, but Piero Ausilio says he is not available because a release clause was not activated.
Inter’s sporting director, Piero Ausilio, has said that Barcelona made an approach for Lautaro Martínez but the forward is already “out of the market.”
Martínez had been strongly linked to a move to Barça earlier in the year, particularly during the hiatus imposed by the coronavirus.
Speculation abounded during that period, with media reports claiming that Barça see Martínez as a long-term replacement for Luis Suárez.
But such has been the internal turbulence at Barça in recent months, especially after Lionel Messi asked to leave, the links between the Catalans and Martínez have been silenced.
Martínez had a termination clause in his contract until July, but after its expiration, Inter considers the Argentine international non-transferable.
“There was a rapprochement for the Barcelona player, but we never started a negotiation,” Ausilio told Sky Sport Italia.
“There was a clause that was never triggered and from the day it expired we considered Lautaro off the market.”
Ausilio was also quick to underline that Messi would not move in the opposite direction.
“You told the truth saying there is nothing. I don’t know where certain ideas come from,” Ausilio said of a move for the Barcelona superstar.
“If we talk about Messi, there is no club that does not want to sign him [but] the reality is different. In the market, we must be careful and smart.
“We know what we have to do. First, the departures. Through them we will finance the newcomers. The opportunities are few and the ones we can take advantage of are not so expensive.
But that does not mean that Inter will not do business with Barça, since Ausilio also expressed his interest in signing midfielder Arturo Vidal.
“We like Arturo Vidal, sure, but now he’s a Barcelona player,” he said. “If they let him go in the right conditions, we will consider signing him.”
Ausilio also added that another Inter-linked midfielder, Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, would not make it to San Siro.
“We have never started anything to sign Kante from Chelsea. No possibility. It is not a goal, “Ausilio said.
