Barcelona continue summer clear-out with sale of Jean-Clair Todibo
By Max Cooper
Barcelona starlet Jean-Clair Todibo has left Camp Nou to join Nice on a permanent transfer as La Blaugrana push to slash their wage bill ahead of the coming season.
The 21-year-old spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Nice, and the French side inserted an option-to-buy clause in the deal.
And Barça confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the Ligue 1 outfit have opted to activate that clause, meaning he'll leave the Catalan giants for a fee of €8.5m, plus a further €7m in add-ons. La Blaugrana will also receive a percentage of any potential future sale.
Todibo joined Barcelona in July 2019, arriving from Toulouse on a free transfer. He then spent six months on loan at Bundesliga side Schalke, and the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign with Benfica. He did not feature at all in the Portuguese top flight, and he ended his loan spell prematurely, before joining Nice in February 2021.
The centre-back has now found his permanent home for the foreseeable future, while Barça receive a decent fee with the possibility of even more money depending on his success in Ligue 1. This transfer will come as a great relief to club president Joan Laporta, as he continues to try and reduce their current wage bill.
Barça are in serious financial trouble and are desperate to offload as many fringe players as possible this summer. The likes of Martin Braithwaite, Junior Firpo and Samuel Umtiti are a selection of the stars on the transfer list this summer, while their high earners may be asked to take pay cuts.
Gerard Pique is believed to be the first Blaugrana star to have met with Laporta and agreed to reduce his salary, and many more will be required to do the same. Barça are also negotiating a new deal with Lionel Messi, whose contract expires in a matter of days.