Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola rejected the chance to sign Philippe Coutinho over the summer.
Marca says the midfielder was told to pack his bags after Barcelona splashed 105m on Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann.
And Catalan chiefs believed Guardiola was going to jump at the chance to bring the playmaker to the Etihad.
However, Pep had no interest in adding Coutinho to his already star-studded squad.
And with other unnamed clubs also turning down Barcelona's advances, the 27-year-old eventually landed a loan move to Bayern Munich late in the transfer window.
