The lesser-known side of Dro Fernandez's departure from PSG

BarcelonaWith Pedri González out and the hellish schedule of matches at the beginning of 2026, Hansi Flick would have liked to have Dro Fernández at his disposal. The German coach had valued the performances of the midfielder from Nigrán since the summer Asian tour, where he was impressed by his dynamism in the attacking midfield. Dro, who came up through La Masia from the youth ranks, and despite his brief stint with Barça B, was expected to join the young academy players in the first team. Flick planned to gradually integrate him, so he was immensely disappointed when, in mid-January, the player informed him that he would be leaving in the winter transfer window after accepting one of the many offers he had received.

Initially, the Barça coach's reaction was to lash out at Dro and ostracize him. "I don't want players who don't live for the club," he snapped, annoyed by what he interpreted as a unilateral decision by the Galician player and his agent, Iván de la Peña. However, a few days later, Flick moderated his message to the point of downplaying his loss and exonerating the player. "He would have had a great future at Barça, but that's football," he said last Friday. Between his initial and subsequent reactions, the coach, who was among the last to learn the news, has been able to gather internal feedback and better understand the intricacies of a move that caught him off guard. In this case, there's more to the story than that of an impatient teenager signing a multi-million euro contract with PSG. The plot is somewhat more complex.

In fact, the French club was able to snap up the young talent because he had an affordable €6 million release clause. If Barça had acted – as they did with Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí – to secure his future before he turned 18 on January 12, that release clause would have been much more expensive. And this, above all, is the responsibility of Barça's sporting director, Anderson Luis de Souza. DecoFar from being self-critical, he accused Dro and his entourage of being too hasty in an interview with TNT Sports. This lack of foresight became an opportunity for PSG and their coach, Luis Enrique Martínez, who has excellent connections with the young player's agents, but also a golden opportunity for Barça to receive a clean transfer fee mid-season for a promising player with very little experience in La Liga.

Just 6 million wasn't enough

The narrative of unilateralism emanating from Camp Nou has a glaring crack because the Barcelona management hasn't waited to receive the €6 million release clause, but has instead agreed a transfer with PSG, with whom they now have a very good relationship after leaving Florentino Pérez to handle the Super League title alone. The deal represents a welcome cash infusion for the club, but above all, it coincides with the need for Joan Laporta's board to shed the burden of the guarantees that were used last summer to register the signings of Marcus Rashford and Rooney Bardghji in a context of... fair play Financial overrun.

Sources close to the Barça hierarchy confirm to ARA that the €6 million release clause for Dro was insufficient to cover the €19 million guarantee needed to avoid problems with player registrations. However, the €8.5 million that was ultimately negotiated did cover the entire guarantee, part of which was also offset by Gavi's long-term absence. For the board, which throughout this term has become accustomed to guaranteeing new players' registrations due to budget constraints and salary cap issues, it was essential to clear these €19 million before the March 15 elections. In other words, the financial pressure on Barça's directors has not been in vain when it comes to managing the future of one of La Masia's most promising talents.