Barcelona scrambling to undo expensive transfer mistake

Imre Himmelbauer

• Updated: 26 Dec 2023 10:28 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona are scrambling to prevent the permanent exit of wonderkid Chadi Riad.

The Catalans loaned the defender to Real Betis in the summer and the 20-year-old has become a sensation at the Spanish mid-table side. The problem? Betis have an option to buy him for a measly €3.5 million.

According to Sport and transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona have a number of means to prevent the permanent departure of the youngster. The Spanish daily claims that the club have negotiated a buyback clause of €7m, which they want to trigger as soon as possible.

However, Romano claims that the option cannot be activated until the end of the season. Obviously, the clause can only be triggered if Real Betis first use their purchase option, which the Seville club are expected to do.

Embarrassingly for Barcelona, not only will this see Betis turning a significant profit on the Blaugrana starlet but Manuel Pellegrini's club have reportedly also negotiated a sell-on percentage of no less than 50 per cent on Riad.

Riad's rise

The central defender, whose contract with Barcelona runs until 2025, was one of the greatest talents in the Catalans' youth department, but only played one minute for the first team prior to his loan exit.

Riad was initially not an intended starter at Real Betis, but after the departure of Luiz Felipe and the injury of Marc Bartra, the Moroccan youth international was given an opportunity, which he made excellent use of.

His recent performance in the 1-1 draw with Real Madrid was especially impressive. Indeed, according to the above-mentioned report from Spain, several "high-level teams" have begun taking a keen interest in the 20-year-old.

Riad is not the only Barcelona central defender who is impressing elsewhere, either: Eric Garcia is a mainstay at Catalan rivals and joint-LaLiga leaders Girona.