Dumped by Barcelona! Braithwaite reflects on his release

FT Desk

7 Oct 2022 18:56 BST
3 min read

Barcelona must shift Braithwaite to sign Depay — © ProShots

This time last season, Martin Braithwaite was Barcelona's richest player. Now, he's turning out for Espanyol having been freed by the Catalan giants.

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Braithwaite wasn't Barca's best-paid player - at least not by the club - but he was the wealthiest owing to his real-estate interests in New York.

But the Camp Nou club were nonetheless desperate to get the Dane's wages off the books as they looked to emerge from what was once a €1.35 billion debt at the club - one that effectively cost them the continued employment of their greatest ever player, Lionel Messi.

Martin Braithwaite booed by Barcelona fans 🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/jgd5nG4pdd
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 9, 2022

While Barca found buyers for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Philippe Coutinho this summer - Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively - they couldn't command a transfer fee for Braithwaite, and they negotiated the termination of his contract before he signed for Espanyol.

The 31-year-old forward has hit the ground running at Barca's crosstown rivals, with a two goals and an assist in four games since making the move, and he holds no ill will.

Braithwaite: 'only positives'

"I think it was clear that after my injury I wasn't going to play," he said of the knee injury which required surgery last September. "And I didn't need anyone to come and tell me.

"It was just a kind of natural deal where I knew I had to go through what my options were. The truth is that when I look back I can only remember good times and positive things, like the number of good people I've met.

"I can only say positive things about my time at Barcelona."

Barca had been granted an emergency exception to sign Braithwaite from Leganes for €18m in February 2020 after a long-term injury to Ousmane Dembele.

But the writing was on the wall for the Dane when the club paid €50m for Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski this summer - the Pole now up to 12 goals from his 10 games.