As you may recently have seen mentioned in the news, the recent renewal of the deal for Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr. is going to be the biggest in the history of football. As the leaders of the game in terms of football style and performance, FC Barcelona tends to be at the forefront of transfer deals and the like.
Want to know just how powerful Barcelona have been in the past? Then here are some interesting facts and figures regarding Barcelona transfers in the past.
1. The Transfer Ban- Why?
Barcelona was banned from transfers due to a specific European Union position. Anyone from the age of 16-18 cannot move to a club that is more than 50km from the national border they cross. Barcelona had broken this rule thus causing the ban.
2. What Does It Mean?
This ban was to last for two transfer windows, meaning that Barcelona cannot buy or sell players until the beginning of this year 2016. This also means that they can find players but cannot register them.
3. When Did It Occur?
The ban took place after a 90 day period, where the club had to put in place features to make sure minor players were protected contractually. This was a punishment from FIFA for infringement of rules that govern foreign young players.
4. What Did It Cost?
The club was also hit with a fine of 450,000 Swiss Francs. An extra cost was incurred in the Spanish FA were they managed to get a 500,000 fine for the same thing.
5. Heavy Working
After the transfer embargo from 2014-2016, Barcelona has been heavily engaged in the market. In fact, once the transfer embargo was lifted in January 2016, the club signed 77 new footballers.
6. Fast Movement
During this embargo period, the club signed Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan and Sevilla midfielder Aleix Vidal. Both players were ineligible to play until January 2016, being one of the first deals of this kind in major football history.
7. Major Player
The most expensive signing in the history of FCB was that of Uruguayan Luis Suarez. The forward arrived in 2014 from Liverpool FC in England for a fee of £75m.
8. Super Flop
Next on this list was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who cost £37m plus the rights to Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o.
9. Cashing In
The highest transfer fee that was ever received by the club was for Luis Figo. The Portugal legend moved to bitter rivals Real Madrid in the year 2000 for £37m. It stands as the largest deal in the history of the club.
10. Getting Rewarded
The next biggest deal was for Alexis Sanchez when he moved to Arsenal London in 2014. Sanchez was also the sixth most expensive player in the history of the club, moving for £23m in 2011.
11. Slapping the Wrists
The transfer ban that Barcelona faced was for the unethical signing of juvenile players under the age of 18 from specific parts of the world. It was the first transfer ban of this style to be upheld after Chelsea of England managed to avoid similar censure.
12. Eyebrows Raised
The transfer of Neymar Jr. from Santos in Brazil led to one of the most protracted transfers in recent history. The club wound up in a major court battle for the player after various accusations of tax schemes and underhand payments.
13. Defenders
Wonder why Barcelona doesn’t seem to sign defenders? Take a look at Dmytro Chygrynskiy. The player was a young superstar for Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk before a major move to Barca. In 18 months he made just 14 appearances and left to return to Shakhtar.
14. The Perfect Example
Another popular name for why Barcelona are reticent to sign defenders comes from 2002 when Philippe Christanval went to Barcelona. He signed from Monaco as a hot-shot youngster for just under £15m in 2001. He barely played and moved on, going to both Marseille and Fulham.
15. Nothing Happening
In terms of this year, rumors abound that Barcelona is going to be keeping it quiet. The lack of money, having spent so much on contract renewals recently, means we might not see any new records added to the above just yet.
Information
- Name: FC Barcelona
- Founded:November 29, 1899, barcelona, Spain
- Arena/ Stadium: Camp Nou
- Mannager: Luis Enrique
- Location: Barcelona
- Founder: Joan Gamper
- Leagues: Supercopa de espana, FIFA Club world cup etc
- Website: fcbarcelona.com
Have a good trip and travel!
