Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign Malcom from Bordeaux for an initial €41m (£36.5m), just a day after Roma announced they had a deal of their own.

The 21-year-old had appeared set for a move to the Italian capital on Monday, after both Roma and Bordeaux confirmed an agreement, reportedly in the region of €40m had been reached. Barcelona then came in with a late offer of their own and Malcom has now agreed a five-year contract at the Camp Nou.

Roma’s sporting director, Monchi, has commented on their failed move for Malcom in a video on the club’s official Twitter feed – and appeared to lay the blame with Bordeaux. The Spaniard also said that the club may consider legal action.

“It is easy to explain, but hard to understand,” Monchi said. “We reached an agreement [on Monday] with the player, his agent and Bordeaux. He was due to arrive for his medical at 11pm. Everything was done, so we were calm and confident.”

He added that the Bordeaux president, Stéphane Martin, insisted on releasing a statement confirming the deal, and that Roma were “forced” to follow suit. He then claimed that after Barcelona submitted a higher offer, Bordeaux refused to let the player travel to Rome. Monchi also stated that Roma made a new offer, but ended negotiations when asked to increase it further, “because we don’t want a bidding war”.

“We’re weighing up things up at the club, to see if we can take any legal action. Although we don’t have any signed documents, I have lots of messages from [Malcom’s] agent and [Bordeaux’s] president. That’s something worth considering.”

Malcom, who can play as a winger or attacking midfielder, will undergo a medical on Wednesday but has already been announced by the club as their third signing of the summer. The Spanish champions have also brought in central midfielder Arthur from Grêmio for a reported £35.5m, and French defender Clément Lenglet from Sevilla for £31m.

Malcom began his career with Corinthians and was part of the Campeonato title winning side of 2015 before moving to France in January 2016. He spent three seasons with Bordeaux, scoring 23 goals in 96 appearances, and is yet to represent Brazil at senior level.

Roma were, however, able to announce the arrival of Sweden international goalkeeper Robin Olsen for an initial €8.5m (£7.6m) fee.



Olsen, who impressed with his performances as Sweden reached the World Cup quarter-finals, arrives from FC Copenhagen on a five-year contract. The fee may rise to €12m based on performance bonuses. The 28-year-old is set to replace Alisson, who joined Liverpool last week for £65m, as the Italian side’s first-choice goalkeeper.