Barcelona prefer to sell La Masia graduate over 23-year-old star in the summer – report

Barcelona are preparing for a difficult summer transfer window in which some sacrifices will have to be made in order for the club to lower their wage bill so that they can register players with renewed contracts and sign new ones.

Player sales is seen as one of the most effective means to achieve the desired result. However, it must be done in such a way that the squad is not weakened and the economic benefits from the exit are considerable.

To that end, SPORT is reporting that Barcelona would prefer selling Ansu Fati over Ferran Torres in the summer transfer window as the former’s departure would be more beneficial when it comes to helping the club in the Fair Play situation.

Fati is a product of the La Masia academy and had been tipped for greatness after he broke into the first team a few years ago. However, injuries curtailed his progress over the past couple of seasons. While he has recovered fully this term, Xavi has appeared reluctant to back him.

Fati’s game-time has taken a big hit and his confidence appears shot as a result. Given his situation and the desire of his father and agent to move him away, a summer exit looks possible.

Torres has also enjoyed a difficult season so far, failing to live up to the expectations on him after his arrival from Manchester City in January last year. He, too, has been linked with an exit, with Barcelona said to be open to offers for both their Spanish forwards.

However, Barcelona would ideally prefer to sell Fati over Torres. This is because the former is a homegrown talent and the club did not invest any fee in his signing. It would mean that any transfer fee they receive for him can be entirely written down as profits.

In the case of Ferran, however, the club shelled out €55 million for him and it is yet to be amortized. And it is unlikely that he would fetch a similar fee in the summer which means less net benefits for the club.

Raphinha’s name has also been linked with an exit. And even if Barcelona can get a high fee for the Brazilian, in the end, the net profit will be low. As a result, at this moment, Fati’s sale would be more beneficial.

It remains to be seen how this story develops in the coming weeks. But there is a good chance that Ansu could be on his way out come summer.