The farmhouse is also for sale

BarcelonaNico González, Ilaix Moriba, Marc Cucurella, Pau Víctor, Dro Fernández…, and now Alejandro Balde, Marc Casadó and Héctor Fort, if the operations currently underway to have them leave before September 1st are finalized. Barça continues to cash in on academy players who do not have a place in the first team. In the last ten years, about thirty players trained at La Masia have been sold after debuting in the elite. On the other hand, others, such as Pau Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal or Marc Bernal, have recently earned their place among the best footballers in the world. Eric Garcia, Gavi, Fermín and Dani Olmo are other home-grown talents with a consolidated presence in the first Barcelona squad. La Masia represents almost half of Flick's Barça, but it is also sold.

While there are young players who continue to knock hard on the door –Xavi Espart was a starter in Barça's debut at Elx–, other academy players are forced to pack their bags. Not all of them have a place in the first team. This summer, Tommy Marqués has already left for 11 million euros to Braga; Jofre Torrents to Ajax for 6 million in exchange for 50% of his rights; Ansu Fati to Monaco for 11 million and Iñaki Peña to Greek Panathinaikos for a figure around 3 million. In the case of Marqués or Torrents, the amounts are considerable despite having had almost no presence with the first team. The trend has arrived to stay. And it is that generating income with sporting assets is also one of Deco's commandments, who since this summer is also the chief executive officer of Barça Atlètic.

The next youth players on the exit ramp are Casadó, Balde and Fort, who did not travel to Elche. Although Flick assured that the absence of the left-back was to give him a wake-up call, as he did not see him at 100%, everything suggests that he could pack his bags for England, where several teams have shown interest in him. Casadó, who has seen Anthony Gordon inherit the number 17 jersey he wore last season and the previous one, also has a market in the Premier League, while Fort could end up at German club Borussia Dortmund. The club's preference is for sales to be transfers. Loans do not add as much to the profit and loss account.

Another ‘lever’

The sale of La Masia footballers has a positive impact on the blaugrana coffers, as there is no previous transfer that needs to be amortized. In the last ten years, Barça has obtained nearly 170 million euros in profit from these young players who did not have a place in the first team.

Nico González –who will sign for Newcastle for around 55 million euros, according to Fabrizio Romano– left a total of 21.8 million euros. Porto paid 8.5M initially and three more later to acquire 20% of the capital gains. When Manchester City executed the 60 million clause, Barça received 10.3 million more. The second most expensive sale of the last decade is Ilaix Moriba. Leipzig paid 16 million euros plus 6 variables. Furthermore, the Catalan entity retained 10% of a future sale and last summer received another €600,000 for the midfielder's transfer to Celta.

Precisely, this formula of keeping percentages is an increasingly common practice in the world of football, and at Barça. The Catalan club retains 20% of a capital gain (calculated from the profit the club makes on a future sale) from Sergi Domínguez – transferred last summer to Dinamo Zagreb for 1.2 million – and 20% of a future sale of Andrés Cuenca, who this market has gone to Como for 700,000 euros. In addition, it also holds 50% of the rights of Jofre Torrents and Riqui Puig.

Thanks to this formula, amounts of money have also recently arrived in Barcelona. Mallorca sold Jan Virgili to Bruges for 12 million euros, 40% of which (4.8) has gone directly to the Barça club. The same happened with Estanis Pedrola, the Catalan entity retained 10% which has turned into nearly €100,000 after the winger signed for Oviedo. In addition, the sale of Sergi Altimira to Sporting Portugal has left about 400,000 euros in training rights.

A historic record

Nurturing and training homegrown players bears fruit, whether through performance in the first team or by generating money from their sales. The departure of Alejandro Balde for between 30 and 40 million euros could become the most expensive sale of a La Masia footballer. To date, the historical record is held by Cesc Fàbregas, who moved to Chelsea for 33 million, even though Barça had paid 34 to buy him back three summers earlier. Pedro Rodríguez, for €27M to Chelsea, and Thiago Alcántara, for 25 to Bayern, are the other significant sales of homegrown talent.

A formula that is not only practiced in Barcelona. Real Madrid has obtained nearly 200 million euros this summer from transfers of academy players. Nico Paz (60 million euros), Gonzalo (40 million), César Palacios (10 million), or Jacobo Ortega (10 million) are some of the most notable departures. The white club has also gained 20 million from the sale of Víctor Muñoz to Liverpool.