Was Barca wise to sell Villa at a "cheap" price?
The story of Barca selling Villa to Atletico right at a time when transfer rumors about the Spanish striker's future had not yet reached a climax can be said to be surprising. But it is even more surprising when looking at the transfer fee.
Villa joined Atletico for 2.1 million euros - Photo: Getty
Bought from Valencia for 40 million euros, becoming the third most expensive deal in the club's history, finally at the end of the third year of the contract, Barca sold Villa for only 2.1 million euros. In fact, it was a total of 5.1 million euros, but for now, it's just 2.1 million because if Barca wants to receive the remaining 3 million euros, Villa will have to stay at the Vicente Calderon for another 2 seasons.
In addition, Barca also has another advantage of receiving 50% of the transfer fee in case Atletico wants to sell Villa to another team. The undivided amount from Atletico's sale of Villa, if it happens, will certainly be less than 5.1 million euros.
Previously, Spanish media rumored that English clubs like Arsenal or Tottenham would pay Barca 5 million euros to buy Villa (some sources said 9 million euros). In any case, considering the amount of money that can be earned from the Villa deal, Barca's deal with Atletico is still the 'cheapest'. But the problem is that if they don't sell Villa, Barca will lose an additional 23 million euros in salary for this striker (contract until 2015). Therefore, earning a maximum of 5.1 million euros is better than losing another 23 million euros over the next 2 years.The Spanish press once revealed that if Villa continues to stay at Camp Nou next season, he will receive a salary of 11 million euros, an additional 4 million euros compared to the 7 million euros of the past 3 seasons - this is the commitment in the contract signed by the two sides before. To ensure that Villa receives a salary of 11 million euros after deducting the 52% personal income tax rate stipulated by the Spanish government, from next season Barca will have to spend nearly 23 million euros (both to pay Villa's salary and tax). From this perspective, we can see that Barca's decision to "sell for cheap rather than spend a lot" can be considered a reasonable action.
Barca does not want to keep Villa when they have Neymar and the squad also has Alexis, Tello, Pedro, and maybe Rooney later. Villa cannot continue to stay at Camp Nou because he does not want to be a reserve like last season. Leaving to compete is also the last chance for Villa to hold on to his dream of the 2014 World Cup. He does not want to go to England, Real Madrid is even more impossible, so to participate in the Champions League, Atletico is the most reasonable destination.
According to Thethaovanhoa - DT