Is Barcelona about to snatch up Arturo Vidal right from the jaws of Inter, thus making it 2-for-2 when going for South American players about to sign for Italian clubs, or are the rumors regarding the Chilean midfielder all about putting pressure on Adrien Rabiot of Paris Saint-Germain?

The latter is probably the correct answer, although it doesn’t mean Vidal won’t end up playing for Barca. The 31-year old midfielder, who has clearly regressed over the last season at Bayern Munich, isn’t an ideal signing for the La Liga champions, but in a summer that seems to be about tracking what other clubs are doing and then swooping in at the last minute to force their way into a deal, Vidal playing for Barcelona in the beginning of his twilight years isn’t so far fetched.

Still, Barcelona prefer Rabiot, the 23-year old PSG midfielder who had his best season in 2017-2018, appearing in a career-high 33 league matches and 50 in all competitions. He was left out of the squad to the World Cup by Didier Deschamps, but the French ended up doing quite well without him.

Vidal would be much more meaningful at Inter than for Barcelona, but the allure of playing for one of Spain’s two giants always has a special place in the hearts of South American players. And if challenge is something that drives Vidal, he’s already won four championships in Italy while playing for Juventus, so perhaps adding a championship medal from a 4th league (also has titles in Chile with Colo-Colo and of course in the Bundesliga with Bayern) would be another incentive for him to prefer Barcelona over Inter.

In the end, it has more to do with Rabiot, his agent and PSG, than Vidal. Rabiot’s contract runs out in a year, so PSG would be inclined to sell him, despite his current ability and long-term potential.