Official: Barcelona sell Ferran Jutgla to Club Brugge for €5m
Barcelona have confirmed the sale of young striker Ferran Jutgla to Belgian side Club Brugge for a fee of €5 million.
The 23-year-old only signed for Barcelona on a one-year deal last summer from Espanyol and was initially marked as a low-profile arrival for the club's 'B' team.
However, the arrival of manager Xavi saw him called up to the first team in December and he scored on his first start for the club in a 3-2 win over Elche.
The Spaniard went on to make nine appearances for the senior side, scoring once more in the cup, as well as netting 19 goals in 32 games for the 'B' team.
Barcelona received a fee for Jutgla because they retained an option on him and the deal also includes a 10% sell on clause.
In a statement on his twitter account, Jutgla thanked the club and the fans and described the last year as 'the best season in his short career.'
Jutgla: the sale to get the ball rolling?
Jutgla's sale marks the first departure in a summer that could see a host of players leave Barcelona due to their financial situation.
The sale is small in the grand scheme of things, especially as Jutgla was not on high wages, however it does represent good, quick profit on a player who wasn't crucial to the first team.
@FCBarcelonaB @FCBarcelona_es pic.twitter.com/GxEnPMs3VL
— Ferran Jutglà Blanch (@JutglaFerran) June 8, 2022
Barcelona are desperate to reduce their wage bill by more than a quarter as well as needing funds to finance a move for Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, who reportedly has a €40m price tag.
The wage bill has already been given some relief due to Phillipe Coutinho's £18m departure to Aston Villa, while Ousmane Dembele is out of contract and set to leave.
However, the club already have agreements in place for the free transfers of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, meaning they will still need further exits to finance any additional incomings.