Barcelona receive minor Fair Play boost from Real Betis’ transfer operation | OneFootball

At a time when Barcelona are desperately looking for fresh revenue so that they can register their two new signings, the club have been given a major boost.

That is because Real Betis have officially processed the transfer of Alex Collado to Al-Shamal SC in Qatar – a move that indirectly benefits the Catalans.

Collado’s switch to the Qatari club was made official back on June 17 in a €2.5 million deal, which saw Barça pocket €500,000 thanks to the 20% sell-on clause they had retained when he left for Betis in 2023.

However, La Liga only registered the transaction this Tuesday, as reported by SPORT.

Betis have now added Collado to their La Liga registration list purely for administrative purposes before recording his sale.

What does this mean for Barcelona?

While the player does not appear in Betis’ official squad on the Spanish FA’s website, the move allows the Andalusian club to declare a €2 million profit, improving their salary margin.

Alex Collado in action for his new club Al Shamal (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

For Barcelona, the impact is more modest in terms of fair play. Although they receive €500,000 in cash, only €100,000 can be counted towards La Liga’s financial fair play calculations.

This accounts for just 20% of the total profit, since the player was considered “overpaid” under the league’s accounting rules.

Once hailed as one of La Masia’s brightest prospects, Collado captained García Pimienta’s Barça B side and showcased consistent quality in Spain’s lower divisions.

Yet, unlike contemporaries such as Gavi and Nico, he never broke through under Ronald Koeman, and Xavi’s arrival didn’t change his fortunes either.

Now, he is set for a new adventure at Al Shamal and will be playing under the leadership of former Barcelona match analyst David Prats.