Former FC Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo, who was once described as the new Raphael Varane, may be close to joining his fellow countryman at Manchester United.
A report in L’Equipe this morning indicates that Erik ten Hag is an admirer of Todibo and the central defender is on the verge of joining the Premier League side for €40 million.
So why is this important for Barcelona?
When Barcelona sold Todibo to Nice in 2021 for €8.5m (+ €7m in variables), they inserted a 20% sell-on fee. Meaning that they would receive 20% of any future sale. These fees come in two ways:
- 20% of the entire fee for the player
- 20% of the profit made on the player.
As far as I can see, Barcelona is set to receive 20% of the entire fee, which means if Todibo is sold for €40 million, Barca would receive €8 million, a much-needed boost to the financial coffers in Catalonia.
How likely is the transfer of Jean-Clair Todibo to Manchester United?
Despite L’Equipe indicating the deal is close, it’s believed that there are certain conditions that need to be met first.
The most important one is the sale of former captain Harry McGuire. The English centre-half was on the verge of completing a €30 million move to West Ham, but that collapsed due to the financial situation around the player with McGuire reportedly wanting a bigger pay-off to leave.
West Ham has moved on, signing Konstantinos Mavropanos from Stuttgart, meaning United don’t currently have a suitor for McGuire.
That collapsed move also had a knock-on effect on Benjamin Pavard, with the Bayern Munich defender believed to be the preferred option for United, but Pavard is close to seeing a deal with Inter Milan.
What all this means is that there is a long way to go before Barcelona will be counting on that income of €8 million from Todibo.
Barca still needs to work on the departure of Clement Lenglet, and the loan signing of Joao Cancelo. Those are the priorities this week.