Fiorentina sporting director Daniele Prade has claimed that Barcelona refused to allow Martin Montoya to leave Camp Nou in January.

The Spanish right-back was strongly expected to seek pastures new in the winter window, with Italy his most likely destination.

However, Prade has revealed that Barca's two-window transfer ban, which runs until January 2016, led to the club blocking the 23-year-old's exit.

"Montoya is a very interesting player, but Barcelona do not want to sell any players because of their transfer ban," Prade told Sky Sports News. "So negotiations for him never really took off."

Montoya, who at one point looked certain to join Juventus last month, is contracted to Barca until 2018.