Lyon ace Memphis Depay admits he was hoping to join Barcelona this summer.

And the Dutchman says he retains hope of the move eventually being revived.

Depay declared, "I was quite close" to Barça and explained that "we don't need to go into all the details, but there were certain rules that unfortunately prevented it", alluding to bureaucratic problems at Barça regarding LaLiga rules in terms of wage ceilings.

Looking ahead, Depay continued: “Now I focus on Olympique de Lyon and I want to be important there again. Then we will see how things go afterwards.

"If I do my thing, the interest may still be there. I just have to flip the switch now."