Barcelona beat rivals Real Madrid to Andre Gomes signing

FC Barcelona have gazumped bitter rivals Real Madrid by signing Valencia's Andre Gomes from under their noses.

It was widely expected that Gomes was set to seal a move to Real Madrid, with Los Blancos willing to pay up to €60 million for the Portuguese midfielder.

But Barcelona swooped to snap up the 22-year-old, agreeing a €55 million fee with Valencia.

The fee is believed to be made up of €35 million up front, with a further €20 million in conditional add ons.

It was reported that as late as 10.30pm last night, the player was all set to become a Madrid player, but by 11.00pm Barca had made their move and snatched up Gomes.

It is believed that the player's desire to play alongside his heroes Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi was the driving force behind his preference to join the Catalan giants.

Gomes is a player who is highly regarded in Spain, despite Valencia's poor performances last season.

He was also a part of Portugal's incredible UEFA European Championship success in France, although he lost his starting position in the side once teenage Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches established himself in the knockout stages.

Barcelona have already added Denis Suarez, Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne to their squad this summer, and Gomes will come in to compete for places with Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic.