Pep Guardiola secures Nico Gonzalez deal as Barcelona set for financial windfall
Manchester City is set to make a deadline-day move for Porto midfielder Nico González. The 23-year-old Spaniard has pushed for the transfer, expressing his desire to join the Premier League champions before the window closes.
The former La Masia graduate is set to fly to England soon after Manchester City and Porto reached an agreement. According to Relevo, City will pay his €60 million release clause but have negotiated a more flexible payment structure instead of paying the full amount upfront.
Guardiola Sees González as Rodri’s Backup
Pep Guardiola appears to have identified him as a player who can paliate the loss of Rodri Hernandez in the middle of the pitch, and Nico has the ability to play in front of the defence, or as a more box-to-box midfielder. That much is evidenced by his 13 goal contributions this season in just 29 appearances.
Barcelona Set for Financial Boost from Sell-On Clause
The move will be celebrated back in the Catalan capital too, as Barcelona maintained a 40% sell-on fee when they sold Gonzalez to Porto for €8.44m in the summer of 2023. That should bring in €24m for the Blaugrana in total, beyond what they have already received. Including what Porto have paid, it would make Nico their largest sale in the last 4.5 years, surpassed only by the €50m they received from Paris Saint-Germain for Ousmane Dembele two summers ago.
No Immediate Transfer Plans for Barcelona
It seems unlikely that Barcelona will seek to use that money before the end of the transfer deadline, despite several areas of the squad looking a little short. Sporting Director Deco had identified the frontline as the area to strengthen if they were going to, but now with loan options like Marcus Rashford and Mathys Tel already having agreed moves elsewhere, it is not clear who they would turn to.
