Barcelona are taking measures to reduce the risk of more of their La Masia talents being snapped up by Europe’s nouveau riche. The exit of Dro Fernandez to Paris Saint-Germain was particularly painful for manager Hansi Flick, after Barcelona failed to agree a deal to keep him at the club.
Dro moved to PSG for €8.4m in the end, but was able to negotiate a deal due to his €6m release clause. The 18-year-old still had 2.5 years left on his deal, but Barcelona did not improve his deal, or raise his release clause, after breaking into the first team, and PSG pounced on the opportunity. Barcelona are now taking measures to reduce the risk of that happening down the line.
Barcelona increase La Masia release clauses
According to Sport, in new La Masia contracts – deals signed for players in the academy between the ages of 16 and 18 – Barcelona are increasing the release clauses for their youngsters based on their progress. As is the case with youngsters like Baba Kourouma, Orian Goren and Ebrima Tunkara, who have all signed recent deals upon turning 16, their release clauses increased from €6m to €8m after debuting in the UEFA Youth League with the under-19 side.
Players that made the next jump, to play for Barca Atletic, will see their clauses increase to €10m. The measure was brought in after Marc Guiu’s departure to Chelsea for €6m as a barrier to stop their best talents leaving for lucrative deals.
There are others in Dro’s age range where the increase for playing for Barca Atletic is €15m, and after five games in the first team, their release clause rises to €25m. Had Dro signed under that ‘package’, then this would have been the case for the teenage midfielder.
🚨 Pedri González and Marcus Rashford have carried out a part of the training with the group today. [@santiovalle] pic.twitter.com/S4FXfSb54V
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 19, 2026
A problem that has persisted over the years
This is of course not a new problem for Barcelona, who in the mid-2000s saw Cesc Fabregas, Hector Bellerin and Gerard Pique among others depart for the Premier League. Dani Olmo also departed for Dinamo Zagreb as a teenager in search of opportunities, and other major talents coming through like Jean-Marie Dongou, Adama Traore or Mauro Icardi also departed.
For the Blaugrana, the best method of keeping their youngsters is ensuring they feel they have a realistic chance of playing in the senior side. That reportedly played a role in Dro’s decision, as he felt that there was significant competition in his position.
