Official: Barcelona defensive prodigy joins Ligue 1 outfit for €10 million

Despite regarding him as one of the most gifted talents in the youth academy, Barcelona have sanctioned the sale of Mika Faye.

The young centre-back has joined Stade Rennais on a permanent deal worth €10.3 million, which is slightly lower than what reports had anticipated.

Nevertheless, the defender becomes one of the most expensive sales for Barcelona, who have not featured in a single competitive match for the club.

“The Club publicly expresses its thanks to Faye for his commitment and dedication, and wishes him every success in the future in both his personal and professional life,” Barcelona’s statement read.

Faye joined Barcelona in 2023, for a fee of just €1.5 million. Since then, the defender has been producing a series of top performers for the youth and reserve teams, which made him one of the hottest prospects at the club.

However, Barcelona had to sanction his sale as they could not provide him with the guarantee of regular game-time this season.

The Catalans, though, have not permanently let go of Faye. They have reserved a buyback clause worth €25 million as well as a 30% sell-on fee clause.

This means Barcelona can sign the Senegalese international for a fee of just €25 million at a later date, while the club are also entitled to almost one-third of the defender’s future sale fee.