Barcelona, Marc Bernal armored: astronomical clause for Masia’s little jewel
Although a serious injury had threatened his career start after his exit from Masia, Barcelona’s ever-prolific nursery, Marc Bernal convinced the Catalan club to trust him until 2029, to such an extent that the exit clause in his contract was set at 500 million euros, a figure set at the time of the renewal, which was made official on Monday.
Bernal, a 2007-born midfield joker, had been forced to undergo surgery a year ago to repair an anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injury in his left knee. His long period without matches ended last Sept. 14, when he subbed in for Pedri at the 81’81’ of Barcelona-Valencia, also serving the’assist to Lewandowski for the 6-0 final.
Bernal also played a few seconds in the finale of Real Oviedo-Barcelona, a match that ended 3-1 for the Blaugrana: his entrance came at 91′ again in place of Pedri, whose natural replacement he is considered, and anticipated by a few days the officialization of the renewal of the agreement that will tie him to Barcelona for another four years.
The new contract will be valid as of next July 1, when Bernal’s Under-19 status expires, but the exit clause is already active. Whoever intends to wrest the young Masia-raised talent from Barcelona will therefore have to make a huge financial effort to pay the “penalty” a figure far higher than the current record for transferring a player, the 222 million paid to Barça itself by PSG to secure Neymar in 2017.
