Deadline day for Barcelona was one of the busiest in recent memory with a number of players coming in and a number of players going out. One of those players was Ez Abde, who’s stock at Barcelona was tumultuous throughout the summer. Despite the Moroccan moving on a permanent transfer, Barcelona did insert a buy-back clause into his contract.
According to football insider Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona’s buy-back option on Abde will only be valid for two years.
The Catalan side will have the option to purchase Abde during the 2024 summer transfer window and the 2025 summer transfer window for a fixed price of €20 million euros. They can opt to purchase him beyond those dates, but they’ll need to pay market value.
A good deal for everyone as Ez Abde heads to Real Betis
At one point this summer, it looked as though Ex Abde would be counted on to play a key role for Barcelona this year. Xavi reportedly asked the Barca management team to not sell the player, but once it became clear that Joao Felix was arriving, there was little choice.
Abde wanted first-team football, and Barca couldn’t guarantee him minutes.
I can understand why Abde was keen to leave. Last year he played a lot of football while on loan at Osasuna and then spent the summer captaining the Moroccan U23 team to the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations title. The last thing he’d want to do is spend the 2023-24 season playing a handful of minutes off the bench.
Real Betis paid €7.5 million for Abde, which is a very good deal for a man of his talent. But to get him at that price they had to make compromises that favour Barca in the long-term.
If Abde does reach his potential, buying him back for €20 million will look like a steal in comparison to what his market value will be. If they choose to not purchase him, they’ll receive 50% of any future transfer fee. So while it may not look like the best deal on the surface, it has several future protections in place.
Barcelona is well equipped to handle his exit considering Xavi often plays just one winger on the right-hand side, electing to play a central midfielder as a false left winger. The right will be occupied by Raphinha and Laime Yamal, and if Xavi needs to introduce a winger on the left, he has the likes of Joao Felix or Ferran Torres who can play out there.
It’s always sad to say goodbye to good players, but in this case, it made sense.
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