Barcelona are down to just 21 senior players in their squad after letting Hector Bellerin out the door on the final day of the transfer window.
After Gerard Pique’s retirement and Memphis Depay’s departure to Atletico Madrid, Bellerin is the third player out the door. Relevo say a deal has been agreed with Sporting CP to take the Catalan to Lisbon for a €1m fee plus €1m in variables. With Bellerin arriving on a free plus variables, and having just six months left on his deal, the Blaugrana will make a profit on the defender.
🛫 Héctor Bellerín, al Sporting de Portugal.
El Barça recibirá 1M€ fijos + 1M€ en variables + % futura venta.
📌 Los clubes están revisando los contratos.
📌 El lateral derecho, esta tarde, en Lisboa.
✍️ @MatteMoretto pic.twitter.com/UBrjQnw43S
— Relevo (@relevo) January 31, 2023
Since arriving on the last day of the summer transfer window, Bellerin has barely featured for Barcelona, playing just 7 times for a total of 494 minutes.
Xavi Hernandez has confirmed the exit less than an hour after the news broke, thanking him for his efforts.
“We thank Hector for everything, he’s been an example in every aspect and has never shown a bad attitude.”
It does leave the Blaugrana without a natural right-back though. Xavi Hernandez admitted he was the only natural option at the position ahead of their tie against Real Sociedad, but now Xavi will have to rely on Sergi Roberto, Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo to cover the position for the rest of the season. That is unless the Blaugrana can bring in an alternative in the dying hours of the window.
