Barcelona wonderkid Pedri is set to have one of the highest release clauses in world football after the Spanish club made a breakthrough in contract negotiations.
That is according to transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano, who claims the 18-year-old Spaniard has reached an agreement with Barcelona over a new deal.
Pedri has emerged as one of Barcelona’s most exciting and promising young talents alongside fellow Spaniards Gavi and Ansu Fati.
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However, the Barcelona midfielder’s current contract will expire in 2022 and has been linked with the likes of Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
The La Liga club have been locked in contract negotiations with Pedri’s representatives in a bid to secure his long-term commitment to Barcelona.
Goal reports that Barcelona have managed to make a compromise with Pedri’s representatives over his salary increase amid the club’s financial difficulties.
Pedri has agreed terms with Barcelona and his new contract will expire in 2026, but the club have inserted a release clause ‘worth more than €600m (£509m).’
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However, Romano claims that the Spanish international’s release clause would be set at a staggering €1bn.
He tweeted: “Barcelona have reached total agreement with Pedri to extend his contract until June 2026, here we go! New deal to be signed in the next hours/days. Final clauses agreed and fixed too.
“[Exclusive]: new release clause for Pedri will be €1B (one billion).”
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Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker reacted to Romano’s tweet with a simple message: “That’s one helluva release clause.”
Pedri’s new deal will move him alongside Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema for the highest release clause in world football.
Benzema, who signed a new deal in August, has a reported €1bn release clause in his Madrid contract.
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According to Goal, the high release clauses in Spanish football have become known as an 'anti-Sheikh' clause.
The ‘anti-Sheikh’ clause is used to help Spanish clubs keep hold of their prized players from the huge financial powers of clubs like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona will push ahead with contract extensions for Gavi, Fati and Ronald Araujo after Pedri’s deal has officially been confirmed.
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Pedri, who was signed from Las Palmas in 2020, made an impressive 52 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions last season.
That’s not to mention that the Barcelona midfielder also represented Spain at Euro 2020 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the summer.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Pedri, Barcelona, La Liga, Football, Spain
