How much could Barcelona make from Jean-Clair Todibo’s imminent transfer to Manchester United?

Jean-Clair Todibo didn’t have a particularly important role to play in Barcelona’s past but he could have a big impact on their future. Reports in France indicate the defender is on the verge of making a move from French club Nice to Manchester United for a fee of around $43.1 million, which the LaLiga champions are desperately hoping gets done as quickly as possible.

How many matches did Todibo play for Barcelona?

To say Todibo’s spell at Camp Nou was low-profile would probably be something of an understatement. After playing only 10 games in Ligue 1 for Toulouse, the Frenchman moved to Spain in January 2019 for a modest fee and, despite being handed the number 6 jersey, which suggested plenty of first-team involvement, made just five appearances in all competitions in a year before being loaned out to Bundesliga club Schalke until the end of the 2020-21 season.

Barça’s sell-on clause

He then had subsequent loan spells at Benfica and Nice, who signed him permanently for roughly $9.2 million in the summer of 2021. But while things may not have worked out in Catalonia, somebody somewhere saw enough from Todibo to suggest he had plenty of unfilled potential, including a 20% sell-on clause in the deal that saw him move to back to his homeland.

In his two full seasons on the French Riviera, he has become an undisputed starter for Nice and earned his first call-up to the France national team in March this year, although he has yet to get on the field of play.

How much will Barça be due if Todibo moves to United?

His impressive form looks set to lead to a move to the Premier League with United, which would earn Barça somewhere in the region of $8.6 million, which will be a timely - and somewhat unexpected - financial boost.

LaLiga champions still struggling financially

The Catalans’ money problems have, of course, been well documented, with the recent sales of Franck Kessié and Ousmane Dembélé, which followed the departures of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, necessary to enable the club to slash their sky-high wage bill and register new signing Ilkay Gündogan to play in LaLiga, as well Gavi and Ronald Araújo, who had agreed new contracts.

However, Barça have as yet been unable to register fellow summer arrival Iñigo Martinez, Marcos Alonso and back-up goalkeeper Iñaki Peña because of ongoing Financial Fair Play issues. Those would be relieved somewhat by Todibo’s move to Manchester, which would, of course, also improve the club’s financial health in general.

Barça’s cost-cutting

In April, Barcelona made the decision to cancel their dedicated television channel Barça TV, which meant over 100 people were laid off. Meanwhile, it was confirmed this week that a taxi service which took youth team players from their homes across Catalonia to Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, the club’s training ground and academy base, had been scrapped, with bus routes introduced as a cost-cutting replacement.