Ranked: Every Barcelona player by their release clause
Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer from European champions Manchester City.
Gundogan was captain for Man City as they won the Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season but sees his contract running out this summer and rather than sign a new deal, has opted to join the Spanish champions.
Barcelona finished 10 points clear of rivals Real Madrid as they secured their first league title in four years, their worst drought since going six years without winning the league between 1999 and 2005. And the Blaugrana aren’t resting on their laurels, looking to build on their squad to go for two-in-a-row, while also aiming to get out of the Champions League groups this time around.
Of course, Barcelona still have some financial restrictions as they try to fit their business into La Liga’s Financial Fair Play rules, which means players will need to go for others to be signed. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have both left while others are tipped to follow them.
For now, though, the focus is on the good news of Gundogan’s signing on a two-year deal, with a hefty release clause of €400m.
But, where does Gundogan’s release clause — which Spanish clubs are obliged to include in all contracts — rank among Barcelona’s current squad?
Find out below, where we’ve ranked every Barcelona player ranked by their release clause, from lowest to highest.
21=. Marcos Alonso
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 01/09/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2024
Release clause: €50m
Marcos Alonso was clearly not high up on the priority list of players to protect when Barcelona were doing their business last summer, with a release clause of just €50m.
21=. Ousmane Dembele
Position: Forward
Contract signed: 25/08/2017
Contract until: 30/06/2022
Release clause: €50m
The former Borussia Dortmund man is one expected to be at Barcelona for years, signing a five-year deal in 2017 with a €400m release clause. However, his fall due to injuries and misuse saw a measly release clause of €50m reportedly added to his latest contract extension at Barcelona.
20. Pablo Torre
Position: Midfielder
Contract signed: 01/07/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €100m
Pablo Torre joined Barcelona from Racing Santander last summer with a release clause of €100m added to his contract.
19. Clement Lenglet
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 20/10/2020
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €300m
Clement Lenglet may not be a Barcelona player for much longer, with Tottenham set to make a decision on whether to turn his loan move permanent this summer.
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13=. Ilkay Gundogan
Position: Midfielder
Contract signed: 01/07/2023
Contract until: 30/06/2025
Release clause: €400m
Ilkay Gundogan will officially become a Barcelona player on July 1, with a two-year deal and the option to extend until 2026.
13=. Eric Garcia
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 01/07/2021
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €400m
Eric Garcia left La Masia for Manchester City in 2017 but made his return two years ago. He may not have hit the heights of some early expectations, but Barcelona rated Garcia highly, adding a €400m release clause into his first contract with the club.
13=. Sergino Dest
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 01/10/2020
Contract until: 30/06/2025
Release clause: €400m
Sergino Dest spent the past season on loan at AC Milan with an option to buy clause in that contract, though nothing has been confirmed regarding his future just yet. Should he return to Barcelona, Dest has a release clause of €400m.
13=. Inaki Pena
Position: Goalkeeper
Contract signed: 09/05/2023
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €400m
A La Masia graduate and backup to Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Inaki Pena recently signed a new deal keeping him at Barcelona for three more years with a release clause of €400m
13=. Frenkie de Jong
Position: Midfielder
Contract signed: 20/10/2020
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €400m
Frenkie de Jong was linked with a move away from Barcelona last summer but really didn’t want to leave, stating his commitment to the club. Manchester United were keenly chasing De Jong, if only they could have forked up the €400m to trigger his release clause.
13=. Sergi Roberto
Position: Midfielder
Contract signed: 03/03/2023
Contract until: 30/06/2024
Release clause: €400m
The scorer of a historic goal in 2017 when Barcelona came back from 4-0 down on aggregate to beat PSG 6-5 in the Champions League, Sergi Roberto found himself to be a big part of the club.
His importance at the time saw a new contract in January 2018 with a release clause of €500m but at his latest deal that was dropped to €400m. Enticing for any clubs?
8=. Andreas Christensen
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 04/07/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €500m
One of a number of defenders to come through the doors at Barcelona last summer, Andreas Christensen saw a €500m release clause slapped on his head upon signing, showing his value to the club. The Dane had a decent first season too, looking key to Barcelona’s defence.
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8=. Alejandro Balde
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 01/07/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2024
Release clause: €500m
Coming through La Masia, Alejandro Balde’s first professional contract saw the teenager given a release clause of €500m, showing Barcelona don’t want to let him go too easily. According to reports a new deal is on the horizon with an even higher release clause, but for now it remains.
8=. Franck Kessie
Position: Midfielder
Contract signed: 04/07/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €500m
This is a move that feels as though it hasn’t really worked out, but Franck Kessie won’t be leaving Barcelona by another team triggering his release clause, as that stands at €500m.
8=. Robert Lewandowski
Position: Forward
Contract signed: 19/07/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €500m
Robert Lewandowski was probably Barcelona’s marquee signing of last summer, with the Polish striker joining from Bayern Munich for £42.5m. But despite the quality and the name, Barcelona only decided to go for a €500m release clause, perhaps bringing it down slightly due to his age. In his first season with Barcelona, Lewandowski scored 23 goals to scoop the Pichichi award and help win the league title.
8=. Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Position: Goalkeeper
Contract signed: 20/10/2020
Contract until: 30/06/2025
Release clause: €500m
Originally a back-up for Claudio Bravo, Marc-Andre ter Stegen became Barcelona‘s number one goalkeeper when the Chilean signed for Manchester City in 2016.
Ter Stegen was then offered a new contract by Barcelona in 2017, with a €180m release clause, and has turned into one of the best goalkeepers in the world. As a result, Barcelona once again renewed his contract with the club until 2025 this time bumping his release clause all the way up to €500m.
1=. Ronald Araujo
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 29/04/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €1bn
Ronald Araujo joined Barcelona’s B team in 2018 from Uruguay side Boston River but was still given a €100m release clause. He had a disastrous debut, coming on as a substitute in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over Sevilla in October 2019 but being sent off after just 14 minutes. However, he’s put that firmly behind him and is the best defender at the club now, as shown by his new contract with a release clause of €1billion. Yes, that’s ONE BILLION. Dr. Evil would be proud.
1=. Gavi
Position: Midfielder
Contract signed: 14/09/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €1bn
Barcelona’s other boy wonder, there was some difficulty surrounding Gavi’s new deal with the club as it wasn’t allowed to go through initially due to their financial problems. However, given the recent departures Gavi does finally have his new Barcelona contract, with that release clause of €1bn.
1=. Jules Kounde
Position: Defender
Contract signed: 28/07/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2027
Release clause: €1bn
One of the top young defenders in the world, Jules Kounde joined Barcelona from Sevilla last summer, having been linked with various moves across Europe. The Frenchman has played at centre-back and right-back for Barcelona so far, proving to be a good utility option, and you can tell they don’t want to lose Kounde given his €1bn release clause.
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1=. Ferran Torres
Position: Forward
Contract signed: 01/01/2022
Contract until: 30/06/2027
Release clause: €1bn
After 18 months in England, Ferran Torres made his return to Spain by signing for Barcelona on the first day of the January transfer window in 2022. Given a five-year deal with a €1bn release clause, Torres has played 71 times for Barcelona so far, though he has fallen down the pecking order with a lot of substitute appearances in the league and Europe.
1=. Raphinha
Position: Forward
Contract signed: 13/07/2023
Contract until: 30/06/2027
Release clause: €1bm
Last summer Barcelona won the battle for Raphinha, signing the Brazilian from Leeds when he looked set to be on his way to Chelsea. The Blaugrana slapped a £1billion release clause of his head, with Raphinha playing 50 times across all competitions in his debut campaign.
1=. Pedri
Position: Midfield
Contract signed: 14/10/2021
Contract until: 30/06/2026
Release clause: €1bn
Pedri has already become so important to Barcelona that he played 52 matches for the club in one season despite being just 18. While he has played only 57 games over the past two seasons due to injury, Pedri remains the future of Barcelona and they won’t give up on him easily.
In fact, so highly do they rate Pedri that, Barcelona recently stuck a €1bn release clause into his newest contract which will keep him with the club until 2026 at the earliest (with an option for another two years).
1=. Ansu Fati
Position: Winger
Contract signed: 20/10/2021
Contract until: 30/06/2027
Release clause: €1bn
Ansu Fati is Barcelona’s new No.10 and the future of the club having been promoted from the famed La Masia academy. He was rewarded for his performances across the 2019/20 campaign with a new contract until 2022, and the option to extend it for a further two years with an initial release clause of €170m.
But that has been gazumped with Fati joining Pedri as the second player with a €1bn release clause at Barcelona (at the time), while also pledging his future to the club until 2027.
