FC Barcelona officially confirmed on their website that they have reached an agreement with Getafe regarding the transfer of Carles Alena. The Catalan side sold their La Masia academy player at a price of €5 million while including a set of clauses in his contract.
Alena joined Barcelona’s La Masia academy in 2005 when he was just seven. The young Alena progressed through the ranks of the academy, making his debut for Barcelona B at 17. And over a year later in 2016, he made his first-team debut at the age of 18. As he made his first-team debut, he appeared 44 times while scoring 3 goals for Barcelona.
Despite showing his top-notch talent in the midfield, Alena failed to be a regular starter in the team. Following which he spent the second half of the 2019/20 season on loan to Real Betis, where he appeared 19 times. As he returned from the short loan from Betis, he played for Barcelona in the first half of the 2020/21 season. And was again sent on a short term in January 2021 to Getafe for the second half of the 2020/21 season, where he appeared 22 times.
As his loan deal ended with Getafe, Alena returned to his parent club Barcelona. But the stay was only for one month as Barcelona have agreed to sell Alena permanently to Getafe. The Catalan side had to take the harsh decision to load off the youngster due to their current financial condition. Barcelona are in €1 billion debt following which they are forced to load off as many players as possible. Alena has become the sixth player to leave the Barcelona camp following Francisco Trincao, Junior Firpo, Jean-Clair Todibo, Konrad Fuente, and Matheus Fernandes.
Barcelona agrees to sell Carles Alena to Getafe for next five years
FC Barcelona and Getafe shook each other hands as they completed the deal regarding Carles Alena. Barcelona agreed on a €5 million transfer fee in order to let go of the talented Alena. While they added a no. of clauses regarding the future of Carles Alena.
First, the sell-off clause, Barcelona have decided to put a 50% sell-on clause on Alena. It means the Catalan side will be receiving 50% of the transfer fee if Getafe decides to sell the midfielder in the future.
Second, the first refusal clause, Barcelona have also decided to have the right of first refusal regarding Alena. It means that Getafe needs to bring in any offers regarding Alena to the Catalan board. And Barcelona will have the first right to decide about the midfielder’s future.
Lastly, the buy-back clause, the Catalans have the option to buy back Alena from Getafe in the future. It same as what Barcelona did with Emerson Royal this summer. The Blaugrana bought back Emerson at a price of €9 million from Real Betis.
Alena had put an emotional message in his Instagram handle thanking Barcelona for the wonderful journey. The midfielder said,“16 years at Barcelona, It’s not easy to say goodbye to what my home has been. I’ve been a lucky one and I can only thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. I’m speechless, A Clue for life, Always the best FC Barcelona.”
Getafe manager Michel will be happy with this signing, as Alena has been a primary target for him. Alena is the fourth signing for Azulones after Vitolo, JJ Macias, and Stefan Mitrovic. So, let’s wait for the next season to start in order to see what magic Alena brings in Getafe’s midfield.
