Why Chelsea could sign Gavi for just €50m

Robin Bairner

• 20 Jan 2022 08:59 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona teenager Gavi is regarded as one of the greatest up-and-coming talents in world football, but the Catalan club are at risk of losing him for as low as €50 million.

Chelsea have been linked with a surprise move for the 17-year-old midfielder, who has exploded onto the scene this season.

He has played 24 times for the first team, scoring one goal and creating three more, while he has also caught the eye of Spain boss Luis Enrique, who has capped him on four occasions already.

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Despite Gavi having the world at his feet, Barcelona could be powerless to lose him for just €50m to the Blues, according to El Nacional.

But why is this possible?

Quite simply, the release clause that is set in Gavi’s contract at €50m. It would have been set at that price by the club, who would not have anticipated his rapid rise to the very top of the game.

Every player in Spanish football has a release clause attached to their contract as part of the law in the country, though often these can be set to unreasonable figures. Ferran Torres, for example, has a release clause that is set at €1 billion – a figure that no-one will possibly match.

Of course, they thought that was the case when they set Neymar’s figure at €222m, a sum that was matched in 2017 by Paris Saint-Germain to set a new world-record transfer fee, more than doubling the previous mark.

Can Barca prevent this?

Barcelona are presently in talks over a new deal with Gavi that will see his release clause raised substantially.

The player, who came through the club’s academy ranks, likely feels that this is in his best interests. Chelsea, then, is probably not on his agenda at the current time.

The trade off for Barca, though, is that they will be forced to pay him a higher salary. With the club fighting to reduce their wage bill, they are faced with a complicated balancing act, but tying Gavi down to a long-term deal must be considered an absolute priority to keep predators like Chelsea at bay.