FC Barcelona Makes Surprise $67 Million From Player Transfers

FC Barcelona has made a well-needed yet somewhat surprise $67 million (€65 million) from the sales of players either moved on by the club some time ago or who had not even managed to make it to the first team, as highlighted by SPORT.

Nico Gonzalez was tipped to be the next Sergio Busquets when breaking through to Ronald Koeman’s senior side at the turn of the decade.

Under Xavi Hernandez, however, he failed to make an impact and was shipped out to Valencia on loan before Porto bought him permanently in 2023.

Though the 23-year-old struggled initially in Portugal, he soon adapted to the Dragões’ style of play and spent barely a season and a half there thanks to impressive displays.

This meant that out of nowhere, a Manchester City that hadn’t sufficiently compensated for the ACL rupture loss of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri triggered the youngster’s $62 million (€60 million) release clause on deadline day of the winter transfer market.

Because Barca was smart to insert a sell-on clause in the original Porto agreement, it will receive 40% of that fee or rather $24.8 million (€24 million).

Add this to the $10.35 million (€10 million) brought in for Mika Faye to Rennes, $10.35 million (€10 million) for selling Julian Araujo to Bournemouth, $9.3 million (€9 million) for Chadi Riad’s transfer to Crystal Palace, $6.2 million (€6 million) that took Marc Guiu to Chelsea, $5.2 million (€5 million) from Al-Ittihad for Unai Hernandez and $3.1 million (€3 million) from Sampdoria for Estanis Pedrola.

You’re then left with a figure exceeding €65 million for fringe players, and because many of them have sell-on clauses inserted into their agreements too, Barca could be set to receive further cash boosts down the line if they move to bigger clubs – especially if they come from the moneyed Premier League.

All this speaks to the smart work of Sporting Director Deco, who works with a limited budget thanks to the fallout from the financial crisis that previously threatened to bankrupt Barca financially.

With Barca bringing in these funds and also returning to 1:1 under Financial Fair Play (FFP) limits, it might soon be able to dream of making big signings of its own as routinely seen in yesteryear.