In 2020, Barcelona and Real Betis have co-signed Emerson Royal from Atletico Mineiro, and they will close a similar deal five years later and on this occasion it will be for another right back.
Last summer, Barcelona made a late attempt to sign Marc Pubill. The 22-year-old was at the back of an impressive tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games, but despite an agreement on personal conditions that were present, a deal with Almeria could not be concluded.
But that did not damn their mind, with conversations that have resumed in recent months. And Pubill now seems to be a Barcelona player, although he would not only be the property of the Catalans.
As reported by Ed (via Sport), betis have almost agreed a deal with Almeria to sign pubill. As part of the scheme, she and Barcelona would pay the same compensation to take each of the rights of the defender.
Betis would be the team to have Pubill in their books for the 2025-26 season, which would solve their problem to sign a new right back. As far as Barcelona is concerned, they would have the option to buy the remaining 50% rights that they would not have in the future, which they would do with Emerson in 2021 before selling him to Tottenham Hotspur.
Barcelona also hoped to sign a right back this summer, but with this Pubill deal they can decide to go for another player. They have Jules Kounde as their normal starter, while Hansi Flick also has Eric Garcia and Hector Fort as backup options.
It is still to be seen how many pubill costs. Barcelona has money to spend on signing sessions because of the signing they have received from their new agreement with Nike, so that they can complete this and the other deals they have in the pipeline for Nico Williams and Roony Bardghji.