Ezequiel Barco addresses rumors of Atlanta United interest

Rumors emerged out of Argentina on Tuesday that Atlanta United are interested in signing 18-year-old midfielder Ezequiel Barco from Independiente for as much as $14 million.

Barco was asked about these rumors on Wednesday and admitted that he had not heard from Tata Martino about the club’s interest and that his focus is purely on trying to win the Copa Sudamericana with Independiente. But did say that after their run is over, he’ll sit down with his agent and explore options.

"Tata Martino did not call me, I'm not very aware of the situation. First I want to win the Copa Sudamericana and then I'll see what to do,”

- Ezequiel Barco; Source: De Aa Cuna Al Infierno.

So, it appears there won’t be any immediate decisions made on either side of the table for a little while. The Copa Sudamericana runs through Dec. 13 and Independiente are through to the final after beating Libertad in the semifinals. If they are successful in winning that competition, they would advance to the Copa Libertadores and that could affect any transfer too.

While it’s fun to dream about rumors as the pop up, in the soccer world, it’s never as cut and dry as it seems. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out. Stay tuned for more updates.