When Memphis Depay took the airlift to change the Camp Nou for the Metropolitan for three million euros, Xavi Hernández asked football director Mateu Alemany for a substitute. After Piqué's departure, the coach was not in favor of losing another footballer without any piece in return. The name was clear. It is about a footballer who belongs to the club and who always caught his attention, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, better known as Ez Abde. Barcelona had loaned him to Osasuna last summer for one season after ensuring his continuity by renewing him until 2026. However, the answer that Alemany gave him was unequivocal: "There is no fair play."
Beyond the obligation that Barcelona has to reduce its salary mass between 150 and 200 million euros according to LaLiga guidelines, it happens that it would also have to have the placet of Osasuna to renegotiate Abde's loan contract. And of course compensate him for not being able to enjoy the player until the end of the season. Sources from the negotiation of the transfer of the winger point out that when the agreement was signed, Barcelona failed to include a clause to interrupt the transfer if it considered it necessary.
Abde, who came from Hércules to initially sign for Barça B to end up moving up, is one of Xavi's weaknesses. He made his debut with the first team in Mendizorroza against Alavés at the hands of Sergi Barjuan, the interim coach who led the team for three games until Xavi arrived. The man from Egar used him in nine more league games, six as a starter. He immediately realized the enormous potential of the winger. A skilled footballer who enjoys facing the rival full-back and who finds it difficult to give up moving forward with the ball if there is even a small loophole ahead.
Reluctantly, Xavi agreed to give him up in the summer because he still did not see him ready to be the protagonist in a squad with a lot of competition and with wingers like Dembélé, Raphinha, Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati. Given the aforementioned payroll, the best thing for Abde and his 21-year-old was to go out in search of minutes to continue growing. And what better place than Osasuna de Arrasate, a team that bets on the offensive game on the wings. In fact, the team from Pamplona is one of the revelations of the season. They are at the top of the table in La Liga and have reached their first semi-final in 18 years thanks to Abde's goal in the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Sevilla.
If today the draw for the semifinals matches Barça and Osasuna, Abde will not enter the call. Barça could not include any clause to interrupt the transfer but it did impose a contractual condition: if Abde plays against Barcelona, Osasuna must pay the Barcelona entity an amount ranging between 100,000 and 300,000 euros, to which is added another smaller amount if Arrasate summons him. This contractual provision is the new version of the one popularly known as the fear clause that Barcelona also imposed on Nico González when he loaned him to Valencia.
Beyond Abde, Barça also considered re-signing Aubameyang. However, LaLiga regulations dictate that a footballer cannot be registered twice in the same season. This is the case of the Gabonese, who changed Barcelona for London when Barça had already signed him up. After learning the extent of Dembélé's injury, who will be out for a month, Xavi insisted on the need to strengthen himself. The lack of salary margin was once again the answer. And it may be that the marches of Memphis and Piqué are not the only ones. Héctor Bellerín is also negotiating to go to Sporting de Portugal.
