Coming into this summer transfer window, FC Barcelona had a clear objective of lowering their wage bill by offloading players that were not needed by Xavi going into the next season. The club has made significant progress towards the achievement of this objective and the sales of some players are still in the pipeline.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the club is still in the process of selling Dembele, Kessie, and Lenglet, while Dest is also on the list of players to be offloaded this summer. From the sales that the club has made till now, €40 million have been generated in total. The following players have left the Catalan club since the last season.
- Alba and Busquets: End of Contracts
Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, two of the captains at FC Barcelona, left the Catalan club this summer, and both have gone to play at Inter Miami, where they will join another Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi. The departure of these two players significantly lowered the wage bill for the club, but did not result in any income.
- Samuel Umtiti: Contract Termination
Umtiti is another player who has left the club this summer, as he reached an agreement for the termination of his contract which would have ended in 2026 otherwise. The defender will receive a good part of the salary he was due by the club under this agreement, and has signed for Lille for the next season.
- Alex Collado: Free Transfer
Barcelona have allowed Alex Collado to join Real Betis for free, but the club would get an income in case of a future sale of the player as the Catalans have a percentage reserved from a transfer fee ranging from 20-30%. Collado has signed a six-year contract with Betis, but as Betis were unable to keep him due to FFP issues, he had to join Saudi side Al-Okhdood FC on loan.
- Arnau Tenas: End of Contract
Another player whose contract with Barcelona ended this summer was Barcelona’s third goalkeeper, Arnau Tenas. Barcelona wanted to keep him and also had an option to extend his contract unilaterally, but decided against extending it because his wages would have gone too high with such an extension. Tenas has signed for PSG until 2026 now.
- Pablo Torre: Loan
Pablo Torre has joined Girona on a loan, without a purchase option. He found it difficult to get minutes at Barcelona and expects to get regular game time in Girona now.
- Francisco Trincao: €7 million
Trincao spent the last year on loan at Sporting Lisbon, who paid the Catalan club €7 million this summer to obtain the player’s rights. Barcelona have a 50% right on the transfer fee in case the player is sold in the future.
- Nico Gonzalez: €8.5 million
After spending an underwhelming season on loan at Valencia, Nico has joined Porto for €8.5 million this summer. The Catalans have a 40% right on any proceeds from any future sale of the player while also having a repurchase option on the player for €30 million. The Spaniard has signed a six-year contract with Porto, and has his new release clause set at €60 million.
- Antoine Griezmann: €20 million
Barcelona reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid for the sale of Antoine Griezmann for €20 million in fixed fees and another €4 million in variables. The agreement also included a preferential agreement for Barcelona to get Yannick Carrasco for €16 million, but this has not been exercised by the Catalans.
- Gerard Pique: Retired
Gerard Pique said goodbye to FC Barcelona and his career as a footballer in November 2022, which came as a surprise for many. Pique played his last game against Almeria at the Camp Nou, and retired as one of the legends of the club.
- Hector Bellerin: €1 million
Bellerin was not a part of Xavi’s plans for the last or the upcoming season, and with his contract expiring this summer, he was allowed to leave on loan to Sporting de Portugal. His loan provided Barcelona with €1 million, and could have given them another million if he continued for another season at Sporting, but he has already joined Real Betis this summer.
- Memphis Depay: €3 million
Depay left Barcelona to join Atletico Madrid in the winter window for a fee of €3 million plus variables. He was not a part of Xavi’s plans and his contract at Barcelona would have expired this summer.
- Miralem Pjanic: Free Transfer
Pjanic was given a letter of freedom by FC Barcelona in September 2022 after having failed to get any kind of role in the Barcelona squad. He joined Sharjah FC in UAE after leaving Barcelona.
Thus, the Catalan club has gathered around €40 million from the sales of these players and significantly lowered their wage bill as well. This figure will be significantly increased once the sales of players like Dembele and Franck Kessie are being finalized.
