Barcelona's Urgent Contract Talks for Academy Stars
Barcelona have barely closed the books on the transfer window, but Deco has already moved on. The market is over; the real battle now is keeping what they already have.
Inside the offices at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, the priority is sharp and urgent: lock down the contracts of the academy products who have forced their way into Hansi Flick’s plans. These are players still tied to youth or reserve-team deals, with clauses that now look laughably low for football’s current economy.
According to SPORT, talks with the entourages of Abdelkarim, Espart and Farinas started around two weeks ago. Those negotiations are described as positive, with all sides pushing to close agreements quickly. Barcelona want everything signed by the end of the month. Not just for order’s sake, but to send a message to the rest of Europe: these kids are not on the bargain rack.
Espart, the early-season revelation
Few stories have lit up Barcelona’s start to the campaign like Espart. The teenager has gone from academy hopeful to trusted starter under Flick, opening all three of the club’s La Liga fixtures so far.
He has done it with a calmness that belies his age, covering multiple roles and convincing the staff that he can handle responsibility at the highest level. That rise has already been rewarded with the number 12 shirt. The problem? His release clause is still stuck at €20 million, a figure set when he was just another prospect in the system.
That number now looks dangerously low. Barcelona know it. Rivals know it too.
The plan is to repeat the model used with Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí: a long-term contract anchored by a huge release clause designed to shut down opportunistic bids. In other words, a clause that reflects how the club actually see him now, not how they saw him two years ago.
Abdelkarim, the urgent case
If Espart is the breakout story, Abdelkarim is the red alert on Deco’s desk.
The Egyptian striker, signed from Al Ahly, currently has a €15m release clause. That might have been reasonable when he arrived. It no longer is. A standout summer at the youth World Cup and his competitive debut for the first team have changed the picture completely.
Flick rates him highly and wants him as a central piece in his attacking structure. Barcelona, aware of how quickly a forward’s market can explode, are ready to act aggressively to protect him.
The proposal on the table is drastic: a ten-fold jump in his clause, from €15m to €150m. That figure would instantly kill off any hope of a cut-price raid and place him in the bracket of players the club consider untouchable.
The relationship between the club and Abdelkarim’s camp is described as excellent, and the expectation is that the new deal will be accepted without drama. For Barcelona, it would turn a vulnerability into a statement of intent.
Farinas, saved from the exit door
Farinas is the clearest example of how Flick’s arrival has reshaped careers inside the squad.
In the summer, the midfielder stood on the brink of a move to Girona. Then Flick stepped in. The German coach personally blocked the transfer, insisting that Farinas had a role to play in his rotation and should stay put.
That intervention has already changed everything. Farinas has been handed the number 4 shirt, the number previously worn by Ronald Araújo, and is now treated as a full first-team player, not a temporary stopgap.
Yet his contract still carries a €20m release clause. For a midfielder now embedded in the senior group and trusted by the coach, that figure is a liability. The club know it has to be fixed, and fast.
Barcelona spent the summer fighting to strengthen from outside. The next few weeks will show whether they can win an equally important battle: protecting the core of a new generation that Flick has started to bring to the surface.
