Barcelona registered defender before offloading him to benefit in Financial Fair Play

There appeared no hope in Barcelona’s pursuit to find Sergino Dest a suitor. The Catalans received no interest in the player for months until PSV Eindhoven entered the picture in recent weeks.

Yesterday, the Blaugranas officially announced the USMNT star’s departure from the club. Dest signed for PSV Eindhoven on a one-year loan deal with a purchase option for the Eredivisie side.

Further, Barcelona retains a percentage of any future sale if the Dutch giants trigger the clause.

Not in Xavi’s plans

It has always been clear that Xavi Hernandez does not trust Dest. The Spanish tactician gave him a second chance in pre-season last month, but the player did himself no favours with his performances.

It was thus puzzling to see Barcelona register Dest with La Liga. Mundo Deportivo breaks down the mystery behind the club’s decision.

According to the Spanish outlet, Barcelona deliberately registered the American player with La Liga despite knowing that he would leave.

His departure now opens up space on the Financial Fair Play front, for his salary is now off Barcelona’s books.

The newly created space on the roster will be used to register any new signings including Joao Cancelo.

Barcelona closing in on Cancelo

As revealed yesterday, Barcelona and Manchester City are now in the final stage of talks over Cancelo’s transfer.

The Portuguese star will sign for the Catalans on a season-long loan with a purchase option. While the clause will not be permanent, it will be automatically triggered by certain individual or team performance-related clauses.

Dest’s departure frees up €2.5 million in Fair Play margin and Barcelona are now hoping to offload Clement Lenglet as well to ensure that there are no issues with registering Cancelo and the other remaining first-team stars like Marcos Alonso, Inaki Pena, and Inigo Martinez.