Porto confirm Barcelona's share of £50m Nico Gonzalez transfer fee | OneFootball

Porto have confirmed they had already purchased a part of Barcelona's sell-on clause for midfielder Nico Gonzalez before his £50m deadline day sale to Manchester City.

City's quest to replace the injured Rodri saw them part with a significant amount of money to land Nico's signature, snapping up the 23-year-old in a lucrative deal which also benefits his former employers, Barcelona.

The La Liga giants negotiated a 40% sell-on clause in Nico's cut-price move to Porto in the summer of 2023 and stood to pocket close to £20m (€24m) from City's latest purchase, but Porto have now confirmed Barcelona's share of the sum was actually smaller.

"FC Porto also informs that it has exercised in advance the option to purchase from Football Club Barcelona ('FC Barcelona') 20% of the capital gains on the transfer of the player, worth £2.5m (€3m), retaining FC Barcelona’s right to only 20% of the capital gains on the transfer, also cancelling the buy-back option that FC Barcelona had on the player worth £25m (€30m), exercisable until June 30, 2025," a statement read.

It means Barcelona will earn around £10.8m (€13m) from the deal - a welcome boost to the club as they battle to restore order to their finances.

Club president Joan Laporta even teased a late move in the winter window thanks to the money raised by Nico's sale, telling those in attendance at a Mundo Deportivo gala: "The market ends at 24 hours and there may be some surprises. We can close some deal. We are waiting for Deco now."

However, when pushed, Laporta insisted he was simply speaking about Nico's move itself.

"I was referring to collateral operations, to the signing of Nico by Manchester City," Laporta offered as his final words as he left the event.