De Jong and the five players Barca are most likely to cash in on in January
Stuart Telford
- 14 Oct 2022 12:00 BST
- 4 min read
Frenkie de Jong will almost certainly be sold now that Barcelona are teetering on the brink of an early Champions League exit. Who else might follow him out of the Camp Nou exit door?
Barcelona were facing financial oblivion with their debt as high as €1.35 billion when they lost Lionel Messi on a free to PSG last summer, but they have been emerging from those dire straits with the activation of "financial levers" - selling the rights to a percentage of future revenues for things like TV deals and merchandising.
It was this that underpinned the €150 million investment on Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde this summer, while Chelsea pair Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso as well as Franck Kessie and Hector Bellerin arrived on frees - not costing a transfer but still accruing costs for signing on fees and wages.
Barcelona couldn't afford to put a number on Raphinha's new shirt.
Need to activate another lever first.pic.twitter.com/ri7mpjjnEu— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 15, 2022
The outlay was partly predicated on Barcelona having a run to at least the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, but Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Inter Milan means they are unlikely to get out of Group C, with Inter only needing to beat Viktoria Plzen next time out to end their campaign.
A De Jong sale would make the most sense with Barca needing to raise capital. The Dutchman is rated at €58m by Football Transfers but is no longer first-choice in Xavi's three-man midfield, with club captain Sergio Busquets invariably joined by Pedri and Gavi, both of whom now have new contracts with €1bn release clauses.
Kessie finds himself in a similar position, despite only arriving from AC Milan in July. A groin injury hasn't helped but the Ivorian - rated at €40m - already looks surplus to requirements.
Ferran future?
Elsewhere, Ferran Torres could still command a significant transfer fee even though he finds himself behind Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha and Ansu Fati in the pecking order for the wide attacking berths either side of Lewandowski. Fati, like Pedri and Gavi, has a €1bn clause in his latest contract.
Ferran only joined Barca in a €65m deal from Manchester City last December, and eight goals and seven assists in 36 games in all competitions later is still valued at €44m.
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From there, the next most saleable players whose absence wouldn't harm the first team would seem to be Jordi Alba and Memphis Depay. Alba's significant contract only expires in the summer of 2024, but Inter Milan have already expressed interest in the €15m-rated left-back, who now plays second fiddle to the nascent Alex Balde.
Memphis's contract is up next summer so he might generate the least cash for Barca, but it was still advantageous for them to take a significant hit on Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann in recent weeks and months, and a floated swap deal with Liverpool for Bobby Firmino could suit all parties.
Read more about: La Liga, Barcelona, Ferran Torres, Franck Kessié, Frenkie de Jong, Jordi Alba, Memphis Depay
