Brazilian rising star Andre Santos, who currently plays for Strasbourg, was once a player that Barcelona wanted to sign, but failed to reach an agreement with Vasco da Gama because the club's offer was too low.

Barcelona is one of the European clubs that operates best in the South American market. Although some deals were not completed in the end, its scouting department has been doing an excellent job. In 2022, Andre Santos emerged in Da Gama and became the captain of the Brazilian U20 national team.

In February of the same year, Barcelona decided to try to sign him. At that time, Deco went to Rio de Janeiro as Laporta's external sports consultant to negotiate with Salgado, the chairman of Vasco da Gama.

Barcelona's plan is to let Santos join the Barcelona B team to complete the final training before being promoted to the first team. They offered 1.5 million euros, with floating clauses up to 3.5 million euros.

However, despite Vasco da Gama being in the Brazilian B-League, they were reluctant to give up the youth player easily, believing that they could sell him for a higher price in the future. Deco did not continue to insist, and the deal ultimately failed, which was a pity for Barcelona's scouting department, as they had a high opinion of the midfielder.

In January 2023, Chelsea signed Santos for 12.5 million euros, which also included a generous commission to the player's family and agent. After leaving Brazil, Santos was loaned to Nottingham Forest for six months, but his performance was poor. He was then sent to Strasbourg in January 2024.

In his first full Ligue 1 season, Santos performed well and demonstrated his tactical versatility, scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists in the league and cup. Chelsea currently has a bloated squad and it is difficult to recall Santos, so they prefer to accept offers from other teams.

Bayern has been following Santos for months and believes that he is suitable for the physically competitive Bundesliga, and Premier League teams have also expressed interest. At present, Santos' market value is about 25 million euros, but there have been offers of up to 50 million euros, and with floating clauses it could reach 60 million euros. In addition, Ancelotti may include Santos in the upcoming Brazilian national team list.