The ‘secret clause’ in Memphis Depay’s contract with Barcelona

Earlier this week, Barcelona saw their long drawn-out pursuit of Memphis Depay come to fruition as the Catalans completed the signing of the Dutchman on a free transfer.

The 27-year-old had been on Barcelona’s radars for almost a year now, with manager Ronald Koeman pushing for his signing since the last summer transfer window. A deal, however, could not be agreed upon with his former club Olympique Lyon back then. Similar story ensued during the winter window in January earlier this year as well.

However, with Depay’s contract with Lyon expiring, Barcelona swooped to sign him on a Bosman move – their third such deal of the season following Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia. Upon the announcement of the transfer, it had been revealed that the former Manchester United man had signed a two-year deal till 2023 with the Catalans.

However, that may not be the case according to journalist Oriol Domenech (h/t Cat Radio), who claims that there is a clause in Depay’s contract which would allow Barcelona to extend his stay at the club by another twelve months.

The journalist goes on to add that Barca must notify Depay at least six months in advance, that is, by 31s December 2022 at the latest, in case they want to trigger the contract extension option.

Depay is currently away on international duty with the Netherlands at the UEFA Euro 2020. The 27-year-old looked quite promising in the group stages, helping the Oranje seal safe passage through to the knockout phases without any major hiccups.

The former Manchester United forward’s current form, after a fine 2020/21 season on a personal level with Lyon, bodes very well for Barcelona heading into the upcoming campaign. If he continues to perform at the same level at Camp Nou over the coming years, Barcelona would not think twice before triggering the aforementioned secret contract extension clause come 2022.