Earlier this week, FC Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement with Clement Lenglet over the termination of his contract, following which he signed for Atletico Madrid.
The 29-year-old centre-back had spent the last season on loan at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano and Atletico wanted to sign him permanently before this month’s FIFA Club World Cup, but without paying any fee.
Barcelona, eager to get rid of the Frenchman’s massive salary, decided to let Lenglet leave for free by terminating his contract.
€1.5 million in compensation for Lenglet
However, Lenglet’s permanent departure was not without cost for Barcelona.
Indeed, as reported by Jijantes, Barcelona had to pay a fee to grant Lenglet his letter of freedom. Specifically, the club paid €1.5 million euros to finalise the termination.
While this figure is relatively small compared to the amount saved in terms of his salary, it was the necessary cost to complete Lenglet’s definitive exit from the club.
Lenglet moved to Atletico Madrid permanently. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Lenglet still had two years left on his contract, having extended it until 2027 before leaving on loan to Atletico Madrid last summer.
The manoeuvre was done to spread his massive wages over multiple wages. Now that Barcelona have gotten rid of the defender, reports suggest that they will be freeing up in excess of €12 million in salary space.
The report from Jijantes, though, suggests that the amount that Barça have saved by Lenglet’s departure is just over €20 million.
Either way, even though Barcelona had to bear some cost in terms of compensation, Lenglet’s exit comes as a major boost in terms of the wiggle room it offers to the club as far as Fair Play margin is concerned.