Mike Marmol is the key to Barcelona’s payments to Las Palmas for Pedri

This is a bit of a convoluted one, so you will have to stay with me as we work through the details. Basically, FC Andorra centre-bac Mika Marmol may be the key to saving Barcelona from having to pay Las Palmas an extra €5 million for midfield maestro Pedri.

When the Blaugrana signed Pedri from Las Palmas in 2019 they inserted specific add-ons into the deal. Beteve reported this week that if Pedri were to play 45 minutes or more in three more matches, Las Palmas would be owed €5 million.

Considering the financial situation in Barcelona, they’d obviously prefer not to pay that.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca and Las Palmas are close to agreeing to a compromise that would release the La Liga champions from the €5 million obligation for Pedri.

Last year Mike Marmol left Barca for FC Andorra on a free transfer and made 37 appearances in the Segunda division. The 22-year-old defender made a good account of himself, attracting the attention of Las Palmas who earned a promotion to La Liga after finishing second.

How does Mike Marmol help Barcelona avoid the Pedri payments?

As Barca tends to do, they inserted a €1 million buyback clause into the Marmol transfer to Andorra, allowing them to transfer Marmol back to Barcelona this summer, in order to send him to Las Palmas in exchange for the Gran Canaria team dropping the add-on payment for Pedri.

The details of the deal are a little vague, especially when you consider that Marmol reportedly has a €3 million release clause in his contract, so surely it would make more sense for Las Palmas to buy him outright from FC Andorra and then receive the €5 million from Barca. That route would net them a +€2 million profit.

If Barca are able to pull off this deal, it will be a positive result for everyone. Marmol will get to play La Liga football with Las Palmas, Barcelona will save money in the Pedri add-ons and Pío Pío get a highly rated left-footed central defender who just enjoyed an outstanding season.

The only losers in this deal are FC Andorra, but considering their close connection with Barca, I’m sure they will win in the long run.