Back when Barcelona signed Ferran Torres in 2022, the Catalan club were going through one of their most difficult periods as a footballing institution.
Years of financial mismanagement by former presidents had finally caught up with Barça, with the club losing their best ever player, Lionel Messi, in the summer before the season.
The club had virtually no money to spend for two or three successive transfer windows immediately after the COVID pandemic.
It was at such a time that Barça eventually found a way to reach an agreement with Manchester City for around €55 million for the Spanish forward.
Ferran has since spent four and a half seasons at the Catalan club before agreeing a deal with PSG this summer to play under Luis Enrique.
Barça and PSG have reached an agreement in principle for the 26-year-old forward for a fixed fee of €50 million, with the player entering the final year of his contract.
Barça avoid major Manchester City payment
According to Nil Sola and Santi Ovalle on Cadena SER, one of the most significant details of the operation concerns the original agreement that brought Ferran from Manchester City to Barcelona.
Ferran Torres is closer to moving to PSG. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
If the value of Ferran’s PSG transfer reached €55 million, Barcelona would have to pay an additional €10 million to the Premier League club.
That makes the structure of the PSG agreement especially important. A deal at approximately €50 million without variables would therefore allow Barça to avoid that.
It also allows the Catalans to secure a substantial transfer fee for a player who does not have long left on his contract.
Ferran seemed keen on the PSG move
Negotiations accelerated after PSG informed Barcelona that they had already reached an agreement on personal terms with Ferran.
The two clubs have spent several days negotiating the transfer and have now reached an initial understanding.
Documentation is expected to be exchanged as they attempt to finalise the operation over the weekend.
For Barcelona, closing the deal quickly would also provide greater clarity over the remainder of their transfer window, with the club still working on major incoming transfers.
Ferran leaves at his highest value
Barcelona have avoided a major payment to Manchester City. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
The timing of the sale is also notable.
Ferran is coming off arguably the strongest period of his Barcelona career, having scored 40 goals across his final two seasons and emerged from Spain’s World Cup triumph as one of the tournament’s major protagonists after scoring in the final.
That strong finish has helped Barcelona recover a substantial portion of their original investment.
The transfer fee that Barça receive also looks quite decent when all such variables are taken into account.
If receiving an extra €5 million from PSG simultaneously creates an additional €10 million obligation to City, Barcelona could actually be financially worse off by crossing that threshold.
That makes €50 million without variables potentially more attractive than a larger headline figure.
Ferran was one of the first signings of the new era of Barcelona, and he now leaves as a player with many great memories in the Blaugrana jersey.