Barcelona football chief Eric Abidal insists they were never in for Bruno Fernandes.

It was claimed Barca were threatening to wreck Manchester United's push to sign Fernandes from Sporting CP. However, it was later suggested in Spain that Barca were used as a ploy by agent Jorge Mendes to drive up the price United had to pay.

"He is an interesting player, but it is mainly agents who try to do their job," said Abidal to Sport.

"They try to sell their players, but we had absolutely no interest in Bruno Fernandes. We went full on for (Valencia striker) Rodrigo, we were really interested in that."