With the football market in a clear state of inflation, transfer fees have seen a general upsurge in recent times. Signing established players for anything less than the €100 million mark is now close to impossible, and Barcelona are no strangers to the new reality.
The Catalans’ operation of signing Pedri Gonzalez for just an initial fee of €6 million is thus unsurprisingly one of the heists of the decade.
The youngster has gone on to become an indispensable part of the Catalans’ midfield, although the transfer fee has only increased as various clauses are met.
Final penny paid
As revealed by SPORT, Pedri’s transfer from Las Palmas to Barcelona indeed involved just €6 million paid upfront. However, there was an additional €16 million that has been met along the way based on his performances.
The contract stated that the Blaugranas pay €4 million after the player reaches 25 matches (playing 45 minutes or more) at the club and €5 million each when he reaches the 50 and 100 game mark respectively.
Further, Barcelona also owed Las Palmas a sum of €2 million because of his performance with the Spanish national team.
All in all, the deal has reached the €22 million mark after the completion of all variables.
The latest instalment
Barcelona’s recent 2-1 win over Porto was a special night for the Canary Islander. It marked his 100th game in the garnet and blue colours, and it is staggering that he has achieved the same at just 21 years of age.
Pedri played all 90 minutes on the night, and albeit far from his best, was influential towards the result. In fact, he recorded the assist for Joao Cancelo’s equaliser on the night.
As a result of the 100-game milestone, Barcelona paid Las Palmas the final €5 million instalment and closed all the promised variables to the Spanish club.
Notably, his former club hold rights over 15% of any future transfer fee if Pedri leaves Barcelona.
That clause, however, appears impossible given the 21-year-old’s importance in Xavi’s setup.