Barca have announced the signing of the Ajax wonderkid and they were determined to secure their man early in order to beat off fierce competition
Barcelona neither wanted, nor could afford, a repeat of 'The Antoine Griezmann case'.
For anyone who missed it last year, the Atletico Madrid striker had heavily hyped up a television show on which he would make an announcement regarding his future.
What followed was humiliation for the current La Liga champions, who were convinced a deal was done, only for it to be revealed that he would be staying in Madrid.