Why did Gabriel Jesus and Vinicius escape Barcelona?

Gabriel Jesus and Vinicius Jr. are the two most recent Brazilians tipped to follow in Neymar's footsteps, at least that's what they say in Brazil. And the future of both of them looked to be at Camp Nou. 

Barça was the first big European club to catch on to their talents and get the 'yes' from the players. But when it came to finalising the deals, they slipped out of the running, strengthening a Champions League rival in Manchester City and the eternal rival in Real Madrid. 

The Gabriel Jesus decision was taken by the club, by Robert Fernandez. The sporting director's man in South America, Andre Cury, told him in May and September of 2015 there was the chance to sign a young Palmeiras for just three million euros. His destination then would have been Barça B. 

Months later, after winning the Copa do Brasil 2015 and becoming the flagship of a reborn Palmeiras side, Gabriel Jesus was hot property. Barça made their move and there was a clause in his contract which would allow him to join for 25 million euros. 

In June and July last tear, Barça became obsessed with signing a fourth forward to give Luis Suarez a breather. Gameiro, Vietto, Correa all escaped them one by one. And there was Gabriel Jesus. 

Robert had to travel to Brazil to watch him and give the green light. He doubted if the 19-year-old would be ready to take the pressure which comes with playing at Camp Nou and his indecision opened a gap for other. 

Txiki Begiristáin, very sharply, quickly made his move. He used Pep Guardiola to convince the forward. City paid 32 million euros, as SPORT exclusively revealed at the time, while Jesus was preparing for the Olympic Games in Rio, where he won a gold medal alongside Neymar. And Barça ended up paying the same amount for Paco Alcacer. 

As of today, Gabriel Jesus is Brazil's No.9, with five goals in six World Cup qualifying games. He is also proving a success at City, despite suffering an injury when he was just getting into his stride. 

VINICIUS SUCCUMBED TO MADRID's MILLIONS 

Vinicius Jr., meanwhile, was a long-term bet, a player who could come in 2018 when he turned 18. Noted by Andre Cury, Barça spent two-and-a-half years watching him, as SPORT revealed in January.

Just 10 days ago, the player communicated to Barça that he wanted to join the club after his agents had been in the city. 

Then appeared Florentino Perez, who wanted a cure for missing out on Neymar. He paid 61 million euros for the 16-year-old, who has still not debuted with Flamengo's first team nor with Brazil's U-20 side. Little did it matter to the Real Madrid president that he'd gone in way over the clause. 

The agents of Vinicius, from the company Traffic, left Barça in the lurch for the 17 million euros they would pocket: nine million for the 20 percent of his economic rights and eight more in commission. Florentino is generous with Madrid's money. 

And that's where the stroy ends of a kid who just three weeks ago said Leo Messi was better than Cristiano Ronaldo (when the Portuguese finds out...), that his dream was to play with his idol Neymar and that he only played as Barça on consoles. The eight million euros bonus that his family will get changed his mind. Vinicius lacked the determination and personality that Neymar had in his day.