FC Barcelona confirmed the sale of starlet Giovani dos Santos to Tottenham Hotspur earlier today for an initial fee of 6 million euros. Depending on the player's appearance for the London club, the transfer fee could increase by as much as 5 million euros. Dos Santos's new contract with Tottenham is for five years.
The official press release on the club website also states that "FC Barcelona also maintain 20% of the financial rights to any possible transfer of the player during his first two years of contract and 10% on any transfer from his new club, Tottenham Hotspur FC." The wording of the statement is unclear, but one would assume that the club meant to say that FCB would receive 20% of any transfer fee if Gio is sold within the next 2 years, and 10% of any fee if he is sold in the last 3 years of his contract.
Even though this news is still hot off the press, there has already been a strong reaction to the deal in the footballing blogosphere. Opinions on whether letting go of dos Santos was a wise decision by Barca appear evenly divided, with some fans happy to see the club rid themselves of a perceived mercenary and prima donna in the making, and other fans cursing the club hierarchy's stupidity while lamenting the loss of a singular talent.
There is good reason for this divide in sentiment. On the one hand, dos Santos has for a long time been regarded as one of the brightest prospects in world football, having won the silver ball at the 2005 Fifa U-17 World Championship and the bronze ball at the 2007 U-20 World Championship. He has been referred to as the "new Ronaldinho" on several occasions in the press and has impressed footballing luminaries like Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry with his skill. Just 19 years of age, the soccer world is dos Santos's oyster, as his admirers will point out.
But for all of his promise, dos Santos's brief career has been marred by small controversies that have damaged his reputation and have irked the Barca hierarchy, including a resistance to going on loan, persistent requests for a mega-contract, and an unhappiness at being forced to play behind some of the greatest talents in the world. Dos Santos's detractors point out that his insistence on securing a big pay day without first having to raise his game and prove himself are exactly what Barcelona do not need, particularly after a disastrous season during which egos and a lack of commitment were thought to have torpedoed the team's hopes of silverware.
Yet, however fans may feel about seeing dos Santos move across the Channel, they almost universally cry foul at the "bargain" price of 6 million euros that Tottenham initially paid to secure his services. I admit that I am a bit surprised at how low the bid was, but I can't agree with the popular opinion that it wasn't a fair price for Gio.
The purchase and sale of the contractual rights to football players is governed by the laws of supply and demand, just like any market. European economies may be suffering at the moment, but the fortunes of football clubs has been little affected by macroeconomic events. There is still plenty of cash to spend on big money transfers by the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea, club rumored to have been interested in dos Santos in the past. When negotiations got serious between Tottenham and Barcelona, however, rival bids failed to appear from other interested parties. And without price competition, Gio was allowed to leave for the price he did.
Many fans may blame Barca's management for lacking business sense and for giving away the ranch, but I think this anger is misplaced. Fans seem to forget that Barcelona had very little negotiating room with Gio, as his contract was up next summer. If Barca had played hardball, interested clubs may have been content to pull back their offers and wait to pick dos Santos up on a Bosman in one year's time. If anyone is to blame for the low price, it is Gio, whose recalcitrance and focus on fame and fortune caused other clubs to think twice about bidding. At first glance, 6 million euros may not seem like much, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a lot better than nothing.
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