Barcelona set to earn up to €8 million from double La Masia exits

Barcelona are closing in on a double sale that could bring the club between €7 million and €8 million before the transfer window shuts, with La Masia talents Alvaro Cortes and Toni Fernandez both preparing to continue their careers away from Catalonia.

According to SPORT, Cortes is set to join Royal Antwerp for a fee of just over €3 million, while Venezia are expected to pay around €4 million for Toni Fernandez. 

The deals could be completed as early as this weekend, provided there are no late complications.

Barcelona’s focus, though, is not only on generating a transfer fee. Rather, the club wants to retain a degree of control over both players’ futures.

The departures of Cortes and Toni Fernandez do not mean Barcelona have completely given up on either academy graduate.

Toni Fernandez will play for Venezia. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

The outlet reports that the club’s preferred approach is to include a right of first refusal and a buy-back option in both operations. 

Another possibility would be for Barcelona to retain a percentage of the players’ economic rights.

The exact conditions are expected to become clearer once the transfers are officially announced, although the strategy is already evident.

Barcelona remain convinced of the potential of both players, but competition for opportunities is intense. 

With a large number of promising academy talents competing for limited places, the club has chosen to allow Cortes and Toni to move on while protecting themselves against the possibility of their value rising significantly elsewhere.

Alvaro Cortes will sign for Royal Antwerp. (Picture credit: Instagram/@alvaarocortes)

Cortes is expected to take the next step with Royal Antwerp, while Toni Fernandez is preparing for a move to Venezia. 

The centre-back and the attacker have both decided that their chances of regular senior minutes are likely to be stronger away from Barcelona.

Their departures are therefore as much about development as they are about finances.

Barcelona’s sporting department is balancing the desire to keep promising players within the system against the practical reality of finding meaningful minutes for them. 

In this case, allowing the pair to leave on structured deals could offer a solution that benefits all parties.