FC Barcelona Prefer To Sell Ansu Fati Before Ferran Torres Or Raphinha: Reports

FC Barcelona would prefer to sell misfiring La Masia graduate Ansu Fati ahead of Raphinha or Ferran Torres, according to SPORT.

Fati was given the nod for Easter Monday’s La Liga tie against Girona at Camp Nou, but once again failed to impress in a flat 0-0 draw where none of Xavi Hernandez’s forward line managed to do anything to write home about.

At the weekend, the same Catalan daily newspaper reported that Barca will listen to offers for all three of their underpeforming wingers – Fati, Ferran and Raphinha – this summer. Now, on Tuesday, it reports that the club would prefer to sell Fati before his mentioned teammates.

As I suggested, this is because a potential sale of Fati represents pure profit due to his status as an ex-member of the academy that has been on Barca’s books since the age of 10.

According to SPORT, the sports area of the club led by director Mateu Alemany “will prioritize transfers that mean significant net benefits for the entity and not operations that, although they generate cash, end up being insignificant at the accounting level”.

Though he was once rated at upwards of €100 million ($109 million), and signed a new contract with a €1 billion ($1.09 billion) release clause while being handed Lionel Messi’s old number ’10’ shirt in 2021, even offloading Fati for €40 million ($43.5 million) to a Premier
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League club such as Manchester United would be considered a small victory for the Catalans.

With Ferran Torres costing €55 million ($60 million) and Raphinha €58 million ($63 million) in 2022, however, any sale of these players would probably come at a stinging loss when Barca can ill afford to make them and must wipe €200 million ($218 million).

Though both Xavi and president Joan Laporta have gone on record saying that they count on Fati for the future and believe he will come good, the youngster may have to be sacrificed so that a rebuild can be made and players in key positions such as right back, center back, central midfield, striker and winger can arrive ahead of the 2023/2024 season.