FC Barcelona is set to adopt a transfer policy of bitter rival Real Madrid moving forward, as explained by Cadena SER.
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FC Barcelona is set to adopt a transfer policy of bitter rival Real Madrid moving forward as explained by Cadena SER, which cited anonymous sources.
Fans of La Liga’s two behemoths have plenty to bicker about, and one common topic of disagreement is which has the superior youth academy.
There’s no denying that with products such as Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi to name five of many, La Masia does an excellent job of transforming young talent into elite superstars.
On the other hand, La Fabrica is just that. A factory with a non-stop production line where the youngsters that fall off it are sold around Europe for premiums each transfer window.
Real Madrid is also incredibly astute at retaining the rights of La Fabrica stars and making sure they have the upper hand in possibly bringing them back to the Bernabeu if they kick on elsewhere.
Those that successfully see this trajectory through are known as having completed the “Carvajal” route. The legendary full back Dani Carvajal graduated from the academy in the early 2010s, and was then repurchased from Bayer Leverkusen to become an immortal, serial Champions League winner in the Spanish capital.
FC Barcelona will copy this model
Though there are endless stories of players that successfully made the leap from La Masia to the Barça first team, you don’t have to look hard to find stories of others that slipped through the net and were then hard to bring back.
Jordi Alba and Dani Olmo (though the latter was only 16 when he fled to Dinamo Zagreb) are two cases of the Catalans having to expensively purchase what was once theirs for free in later life.
According to SER, buyback clauses will now be compulsory in any future sales out of La Masia. Retaining a percentage of rights is also important, and we’ve seen Real Madrid do this expertly in recent times.
Take Nico Paz for example. In August 2024, Madrid sold 50% of the Argentina international’s rights to Como for $7 million (€6 million). This summer, it then exercised a buyback clause for $10.3 million (€9 million) ahead of selling him to the Italians permanently for $70 million (€60 million) outright.
Still not done there, President Florentino Perez made sure that Madrid still has the chance to buy Paz for $92.2 million (€80 million) up until a specific date in summer next year.
Already, we’re seeing Barça mimic this with how it has handled Jofre Torrent’s expected departure. The Tarragona native looks set to join Ajax on loan with a non-obligatory purchase option of $5.8 million (€5 million) for 50% of the player’s rights included in the terms. If the Dutch club exercises that, Barça will have an agreed buyback clause to reacquire Torrens for $23 million (€20 million).
After so many missteps in this area of the transfer market, it seems that Barcelona is finally learning its lesson and taking inspiration from an eternal rival.
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