Bulat’s Barça transfer failed in dramatic fashion: “Can play for ten years for that money” at HNK

In retrospect, the story can be told this way: Marko Bulat received good and bad news. The good news was that he can move to FC Barcelona. His contract is ready to be signed. The bad news was that the transfer will unfortunately not be completed due to a chain of unfortunate circumstances. And that is the end of the story, with which the Croatian talent was able to go public with a heavy heart, after a transfer to Manchester City had also fallen through.

In Croatia, people suspected it for a long time: Bulat – in former times in the youth teams, today with the senior sider of HNK Sibenik – once becomes a great star. And then it almost became a little football fairy tale when his dad Josip Bulat surprised his son “one day at lunch”: “’You know, Marko, a club from Spain was asking about you.’” Which one? “’A first division club.’” Bulat junior had already heard that there were inquiries – from good clubs – “but then he said that Barcelona had asked about me. I was totally shocked.” This way, the young midfielder told the story to Sportske novosti.

Corona prevented Bulat’s move to Barcelona - “Practically everything agreed”

Meanwhile, father Bulat had not yet told anyone how far negotiations with FC Barcelona had advanced. “Practically everything had already been agreed upon,” said the son, who still plays for Sibenik. What had happened?

“I think it was on a Friday, and on Monday we were supposed to fly to Barcelona,” youngster Bulat, who could have followed in the footsteps of Ivan Rakitic at the FCB and become the fifth Croatian to serve the Catalans, explainde. “Éric Abidal (then sporting director) was waiting for us and at Camp Nou, the contract was already done, and then that evening in Europe the borders were closed, the flights were cancelled.”

The coronavirus crisis had thwarted Bulat’s and Abidal’s llans in early March. The player stated: “The season was interrupted in most leagues, Barcelona stopped all business and Abidal left his post in the meantime.” The manager had vacated his post in mid-August. Although the Bulat family then held talks with other people at the club, they never managed to sign a contract.

Bulat: “Barcelona contract would have had me set for life” - Man City interest

Today, Bulat looks back on the missed opportunity with great disappointment. “I realise that they would probably have loaned me to another club for further development, but the mere fact that they wanted me – from a second-division club at the time – says it all. (...) With this contract I would have been set for life. In Sibenik you can play in the first league for ten years for that money.”

Meanwhile, the teenager’s family was also in contact with Manchester City, as Bulat revealed. “My father and uncle were in England with Pep Guardiola, they talked it all through. They wanted to sign me and then loan me to one of their clubs in Belgium” - the City Football Group have second-division club Lommel SK in their portfolio – “but the team had already filled my position,” Bulat said. He decided to wait and see.

However, Bulat was not sure whether there had also been inquiries from competitors in the Croatian 1.HNL. It does not seem to play a major role for the U19 international. He replied: “To be honest, if you take everything into account, I would like to go abroad and play there.”