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Barcelona Will Adopt A Real Madrid Policy In This Manner, Reports SER
SportsMoney Barcelona Will Adopt A Real Madrid Policy In This Manner, Reports SER By Tom Sanderson ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Tom Sanderson has been primarily based in Barcelona since 2019. Follow Author Aug 03, 2026, 03:31am EDT Aug 03, 2026, 05:00am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary FC Barcelona is reportedly adopting rival Real Madrid's successful transfer strategy for youth academy players, according to Cadena SER. This new policy aims to generate fair play funds and retain control over promising talents from La Masia. Unlike past instances where Barça lost players like Jordi Alba and Dani Olmo only to repurchase them expensively, the club will now mandate buyback clauses and retain a percentage of rights in future sales. Real Madrid has expertly utilized this model, exemplified by the "Carvajal route" and recent dealings like Nico Paz, where they profit from sales while maintaining options to reacquire players. Barcelona is already implementing this with Jofre Torrent's potential move to Ajax, signaling a significant shift in their youth player management.
FC Barcelona is set to adopt a transfer policy of bitter rival Real Madrid moving forward as explained by Cadena SER , which cited anonymous sources.
Fans of La Liga’s two behemoths have plenty to bicker about, and one common topic of disagreement is which has the superior youth academy.
There’s no denying that with products such as Lionel Messi , Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi to name five of many, La Masia does an excellent job of transforming young talent into elite superstars.
On the other hand, La Fabrica is just that. A factory with a non-stop production line where the youngsters that fall off it are sold around Europe for premiums each transfer window.
Real Madrid is also incredibly astute at retaining the rights of La Fabrica stars and making sure they have the upper hand in possibly bringing them back to the Bernabeu if they kick on elsewhere.
Those that successfully see this trajectory through are known as having completed the “Carvajal” route. The legendary full back Dani Carvajal graduated from the academy in the early 2010s, and was then repurchased from Bayer Leverkusen to become an immortal, serial Champions League winner in the Spanish capital.
Though there are endless stories of players that successfully made the leap from La Masia to the Barça first team, you don’t have to look hard to find stories of others that slipped through the net and were then hard to bring back.
Jordi Alba and Dani Olmo (though the latter was only 16 when he fled to Dinamo Zagreb) are two cases of the Catalans having to expensively purchase what was once theirs for free in later life.
According to SER, buyback clauses will now be compulsory in any future sales out of La Masia. Retaining a percentage of rights is also important, and we’ve seen Real Madrid do this expertly in recent times.
Take Nico Paz for example. In August 2024, Madrid sold 50% of the Argentina international’s rights to Como for $7 million (€6 million). This summer, it then exercised a buyback clause for $10.3 million (€9 million) ahead of selling him to the Italians permanently for $70 million (€60 million) outright.
Still not done there, President Florentino Perez made sure that Madrid still has the chance to buy Paz for $92.2 million (€80 million) up until a specific date in summer next year.
Already, we’re seeing Barça mimic this with how it has handled Jofre Torrent’s expected departure. The Tarragona native looks set to join Ajax on loan with a non-obligatory purchase option of $5.8 million (€5 million) for 50% of the player’s rights included in the terms. If the Dutch club exercises that, Barça will have an agreed buyback clause to reacquire Torrens for $23 million (€20 million).
After so many missteps in this area of the transfer market, it seems that Barcelona is finally learning its lesson and taking inspiration from an eternal rival.
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