Barcelona battle to sign 'Brazilian Busquets'

FT Desk

14 Sept 2022 15:09 BST
3 min read

Andrey Santos in action for Vasco da Gama. — © ProShots

Barcelona spent big this summer on the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde, but there was no attempt to replace Sergio Busquets… yet.

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The Catalan giants have been keeping tabs on Vasco da Gama's Andrey Santos for a number of months, the 18-year-old being identified as a player who has a similar profile to Busquets, albeit one that comes with the added threat of goals from deep.

The youngest player ever to score for Vasco, surpassing a certain Philippe Coutinho, Santos now has five goals in 28 first-team outings, and the club's sporting director Paulo Bracks is understandably reluctant to see him leave.

"There's no proposal on the table," Paulo Bracks told Brazilian TV show Globo Esporte recently. "Many people approached him. A lot of people who shouldn't, by the way.

"Andrey is a Vasco player, with a secure contract. If there's a possibility to negotiate, we will. But not this year."

Primeiro gol de Andrey Santos no profissional ✅
Jogadaça ✅
Batida perfeita ✅#VascoDaGama pic.twitter.com/xMnYbiGaZ5
— Vasco da Gama (@VascodaGama) June 7, 2022

Barcelona's hurdles

Vasco's reluctance to sell means that more clubs are entering the fray for his signature, with Newcastle and PSG - two of the richest clubs in the world - now linked with a move for the youngster.

Barca have a new Brazilian on their books in Raphinha, but Newcastle have two in Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, as do PSG in Neymar and Marquinhos, and they would be equally confident of helping him settle into his surrounds - even if it rains more in England's North East.

But Barca face a further problem in that they will have to pay more money than Newcastle or PSG to acquire Santos's services, whether that is at the end of this season or beyond.

"The issue is tax," report Brazilian press outlet Globo. "The Spanish Revenue charges a fee of 15 per cent on top of the gross value of transfers from Brazilian teams. Spain is the only country that charges this amount, and this practice has been going on for a few years."

In short: Vasco would have to give them Spanish tax man a bigger slice of Santos' fee should he move to Barcelona.

Identifying the next Busquets is one thing. Signing him is quite another.