During a fans forum, Brighton CEO Paul Barber was asked about Albion’s transfer history when it comes to their best talent.
On Wednesday, August 6, Brighton fans had the chance to ask questions to Fabian Hurzeler and Paul Barber MBE for the annual fans' forum.
During the forum, one fan asked Albion’s Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman Paul Barber, ‘why do we sell our best players?’
The fan went on to mention the impact the recently departed Joao Pedro has already had on Chelsea, and wondered if there was a special relationship with the two clubs.
Brighton CEO Paul Barber was asked about Albion selling their 'best players' during a fans' forum.placeholder image
Brighton CEO Paul Barber was asked about Albion selling their 'best players' during a fans' forum.
Paul Barber said: “As I’ve said many times they’re my best customer.
"The reality is, every club in the world is a selling club at the right price, and anyone that says any different is not someone that really understands football…
"The reality of our business model has always been the we will buy young players, we’ll hire the best possible coaching staff to develop them, we’ll give them a chance to play in the first team.
"And when the time is right for the player, but also the club, then we will negotiate the best possible deal.
"We will build our club sustainably like that because we can’t always rely on Tony (Bloom) to fill in the gaps.
"The only gaps usually in a football club are financial gaps.
"We have to build a football club that stands on its own two feet, is less reliant on a single person paying the bills.
"In order for a club of our size to do that, we need to have a healthy player trading strategy, and we’ve got one.
"And the key to is to make sure we don’t ever leave our coaching staff with a squad that isn’t capable of competing. That’s the real trick.
"Any football club can sell players and some of the best ones can sell them profitably, but you’ve still got to leave your coaches a good squad to work with.”
Striker Joao Pedro was the latest high-profile player Chelsea have swooped from the Albion.
The Brazilian forward joined the Blues for £60m in early July and made an immediate impact for the London side.
Pedro scored two goals in Chelsea’s semi-final victory over Fluminense and another in the final against Paris Saint-Germain to help them win the Club World Cup.
Brighton now have one last preseason game against Wolfsburg on Saturday, August 9, before their Premier League campaign begins.
The Seagulls face Fulham at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, August 16 for their opening fixture of the 2025/26 season.
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