Barcelona wanted Mika Marmol back: Las Palmas chief reveals collapsed January deal

Catalans came close to triggering Marmol buy-back clause

Las Palmas president Miguel Ángel Ramírez has dropped a transfer bombshell, claiming that Barcelona came within touching distance of bringing former defender Mika Marmol back to Catalonia during the January transfer window — before a late change of heart scuppered the move.

Marmol left Barcelona for Andorra in 2022 before subsequently moving on to Las Palmas. Crucially, Barça retained an option to bring him back to the Camp Nou, and according to Ramírez, the club came very close to exercising it at the start of the year.

'They were prepared to pay those five million'

Speaking on the Helado Oscuro podcast, the Las Palmas chief detailed how far negotiations had advanced, including the exact fee on the table.

"In January, Barça wanted Mika Mármol. They were prepared to pay those five million, but then they made a different decision," Ramírez said. "That's why Mika himself was bewildered in January. I knew that Barça wanted to negotiate his transfer, which wouldn't have been very good for us."

Despite the interest, the deal never materialised, and Marmol eventually moved on to Dutch club Feyenoord in the summer window after Las Palmas missed out on promotion to the top flight.

"We had a small chance he would have stayed if we had been promoted to the First Division," Ramírez added. "He didn't make a firm decision about which team to join until he was certain we would remain in the Second Division. If we were in that division, we couldn't afford the contracts he was being paid at other clubs."

What comes next for Marmol

The revelation paints a picture of a defender in high demand during a turbulent year, with Barcelona's late U-turn leaving both the player and Las Palmas scrambling. With the 26-year-old now settled in the Netherlands with Feyenoord, the question of whether Barça will revisit their interest in a future window remains open — but for now, the Catalans will have to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcement.