Nice president hits out at Barcelona over Seri’s failed move

Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has hit back at claims the Ligue 1 outfit were behind Jean Seri’s failed move to Barcelona and launched a scathing attack on the Spanish giants.

Barcelona were linked with a big money move for Seri all summer and were on the verge of signing the Ivorian midfielder late last week, only for a deal to collapse a few days before deadline day.

Reports emerged suggesting Barcelona had backed out of a deal due to Nice backtracking on their original €40m agreement, but Rivere has put the blame entirely on the shoulders of their Spanish counterparts.

“On Wednesday morning, Julien Fournier [Nice’s managing director] called me early, at 9, and said, ‘Jean-Pierre, I don’t understand. I just got a call from Barcelona, they told me they’re stopping with Micka [Serri],” the Nice president told Canal+, via ESPN.

“In the afternoon, I got hold of [Barca president] Josep Bartomeu, a little embarrassed, who told me: ‘Jean-Pierre, it’s the first time that this has happened to us, but our technical staff have decided not to do Micka Seri. It’s absolutely not a problem of money.

“On Thursday morning, it was confirmed definitively: they won’t be going for Micka Seri. And it’s then that things go off. I said to Barca, ‘You have messed up one of my players,’ because there was a contract ready. I put myself in the place of Micka: it’s his dream to go to Barca, and overnight it’s broken.”

Barcelona’s loss will only be Nice’s gain. Lucien Favre’s side have made an abysmal start to the campaign and will hope Seri can get re-focused as quickly as possible and help kickstart their season.

Nice have only won one of eight competitive matches this season and they have failed to score in three of their last four outings.

Only Ryad Boudebouz (68) has made more key passes from open play than Seri (58) in Ligue 1 since August 2016.

However, only Daniel Congre (5) has committed more errors than have directly led to an opposition shot on goal than Seri (4) of all outfielders in Ligue 1 since the start of last season.