Barcelona exploit genius Ferran Torres loophole to avoid paying Man City extra transfer fee

Barcelona have reportedly managed to avoid paying Manchester City a fortune by making a smart move relating to Ferran Torres’ Paris Saint-Germain transfer.

Torres’ stock is at an all-time high, having scored the winning goal as Spain beat Argentina 1-0 during extra time of the 2026 World Cup final.

Despite the increase in his popularity, Barcelona have decided against renewing his contract even though the Spaniard helped them win La Liga last term, netting 21 times in 49 appearances across all competitions.

Torres has been linked with a move to European champions Paris Saint-Germain for much of the summer, with The Athletic reporting on Thursday (August 13) that the clubs had reached an agreement on a £42.7million fee.

The deal will not involve add-ons, and the transfer is expected to be publicly announced in the coming days.

And while Barca will no doubt need to replace his goals, the Catalans may have saved themselves a fortune by deciding against renewing Torres’ contract.

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Barca's smart Ferran Torres business costs Man City fortune

According to The Athletic, a renewal would’ve required Barca to pay Torres’ former club Man City £6.8million linked to a clause which saw the La Liga club sign the forward from City for £47.3million plus a further £8.6million in January 2022.

PSG paying £42.7million has also helped Barca avoid paying an £8.6million sell-on clause to City, which would’ve been triggered if they had sold Torres for £47.3million or more.

In total, Torres scored 63 goals and registered 23 assists in 207 appearances for Barcelona.

Torres’ exit leaves Hansi Flick’s side with work to do in the transfer window after Robert Lewandowski also departed for Chicago Fire at the end of last season, leaving Barca without a recognised striker.

Speaking earlier in August, Flick admitted that he may have to wait for further signings to be made.

"I have total confidence with [sporting director] Deco and we know that we have to do something. It depends also about Ferran's [situation] and then we will see what happens,” he said.

Discussing who could fill in the No.9 role, the German added: "Lamine [Yamal] has played in one or two matches with us [in a central position] and I think he's a fantastic player, a world class player, so he also can adapt to this.

"I think Gordon and also Adeyemi they can play on both sides. They can play also as a No. 9. So we have a lot of options actually. We will see."

"But at the end of the day, the focus [with Lamine] is more as a No. 7, but we will see what happens."

The Catalans remain interested in Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez as well as Man City midfielder Rodri.

Barca have already signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle, Karim Adeyemi from Borussia Dortmund and Jesse Bisiwi from Club NXT this summer.

The transfer window shuts on September 1.