Barcelona are getting into the practice of inserting a 'fear clause' to the contracts of players leaving on loan

Barcelona have started adding a 'fear clause' to the contracts of players leaving on loan in recent seasons.

The budding prospects who graduate from the club's famed youth academy often spend time away from the club before returning to the Catalan giants.

In a move to stay ahead of the game, Barca have introduced a 'fear clause' for players who go out on loan.

According to the clause, the player loaned out by Barca cannot face their parent club in either La Liga or the Copa del Rey throughout the season.

Pablo Torre in action for Barcelona. Image: Getty

The 'fear clause' saw Nico Gonzalez and Ez Abde fail to feature against Barca for Valencia and Osasuna respectively last season.

That's also the case for 20-year-old Pablo Torre who completed a loan switch to Girona on Tuesday, per Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

He made 13 appearances for Barca in all competitions last season, and, per the clause, he won't be able to play against Barca in the 2023/24 campaign.

Barca, meanwhile, remain in the market for new talent, having snapped up Ilkay Gundogan, Inigo Martinez and Oriol Romeu.

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva and Bayern Munich talisman Joshua Kimmich have been strongly linked with a move to the Camp Nou, with Xavi demanding more reinforcements ahead of the new season.

Speaking earlier this month, he said: "We’re still missing pieces, we can’t fool the fans. I think we can strengthen more, but the technical staff are working very hard, the president is doing a very good job.

"We must strengthen ourselves, the president knows that, Mateu [Alemany] knows that, we must not deceive anyone. The market will be long, it’s open until the 31st of August, and we need to be as competitive as possible."