Barcelona must make quick Alberto Moleiro decision
FT Desk
- 1 Oct 2022 15:08 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona will have to move fast if they want to sign Spain under-19 star Alberto Moleiro for a reasonable fee from Las Palmas…
Barca spent more than €150 million this summer bringing the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde to the club, but they also paid attention to the future, for example signing 'next Iniesta' Pablo Torre from Racing Santander.
Torre wasn't the only teenager they tried to recruit, though, with Moleiro another promising young attacking midfielder they identified. The player himself admitted there was interest before he extended his La Palmas contract in July.
Su debut, 𝑢𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎 𝑙𝑎 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑎 💛
🎬 La entrevista a Alberto Moleiro, en #PlayUD.
▪️ https://t.co/QwqCS4Sl5V#LaUniónHaceLasPalmas pic.twitter.com/TEio7vLXQz— UD Las Palmas (@UDLP_Oficial) August 26, 2021
"My agent told me that the offer existed, but that we should wait and see because there were a lot of rumours and things that weren't true," said the Tenerife-born 19-year-old.
"My reaction was very positive. It's the club I have watched since I was young, I've grown up with Barca and for the club that you love to come for you makes you very excited, but I'm also just fine at Las Palmas."
Twice the price
So fine, in fact, that Moleiro's new deal extended his stay at the Estadio Gran Canaria by three seasons, with a release clause of €30m. The devil is in the detail, however: that fee will double to €60m if Las Palmas are promoted, and Garcia Pimienta's team are currently sitting top of the Segunda Division.
Moleira has contributed three assists from his six games so far this season, and Las Palmas lead second-best Alaves by a goal-difference of plus-five.
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Las Palmas haven't been in La Liga since the 2017/18 season, and there is still a long way to go in the current campaign, but Barcelona will still have to move quickly if they don't want to pay over the odds for the youngster.
Barca paid €5m for Torre. If Moleiro ended up costing 12 times that, he can expect to be playing at Las Palmas for another few seasons yet.
