Paris Saint-Germain have completed the signing of Barcelona‘s talented teenager Dro Fernández after exercising his €8 million ($9.5 million) release clause for the LaLiga side.
Fernández, 18, shocked Barça this month when he revealed his intention to depart the club during January in search of regular football.
“I’m very happy and very proud to be joining Paris Saint-Germain. This is a moment of huge pride for me and for my family,” Dro said at his presentation with PSG. “I’m hugely excited and motivated to play and to give everything for this shirt.”
A host of Europe’s top clubs were interested in signing the youngster, but PSG have won the race for his signature, with the French club’s coach, Luis Enrique, playing a key role in getting the deal over the line.
Sources told ESPN that Luis Enrique, who shares an agent with Fernández in Iván de la Peña, spoke with the player over the phone and convinced him to make the move to France.
Fernández’s decision has not gone down well with Barça coach Hansi Flick, who has shown a lot of confidence in the attacking midfielder, who has been compared to Thiago Alcantara and Pedri.
Flick took Fernández, who joined Barça’s academy aged 14 in 2022, on the preseason tour of Asia last summer, where he scored in the win over Daegu FC, and has handed him his debuts in LaLiga and the Champions League this season.
Speaking last weekend after Fernández had communicated his decision to leave, Flick said he did not want players who were not 100% committed and inferred that “people around” the player had played a major role in influencing him.
However, sources told ESPN that Fernández does not see a clear pathway to first team football at Barça, especially as part of Flick’s formation, which is essentially 4-2-3-1, with Frenkie de Jong and Pedri at the base of the midfield.
In Flick’s system, Fernández’s best role would be as a the No. 10, where he has seen Fermín López, Dani Olmo and Raphinha hoover up the minutes, or potentially wide, but he would prefer to play as a No.8 eventually.
And despite making five first-team appearances this season, he has only played 148 minutes, with his last outing coming as a substitute against Atlético Madrid on Dec. 2.
Like Flick, the club were surprised to learn of Fernández’s decision, sources told ESPN, with the expectation that he would sign a new deal with an increased release clause once he turned 18.
He celebrated his 18th birthday on Jan. 12, with teammate Raphinha giving him a cake on the flight back from the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia, but that will now prove the last sight of him in Barça colours.
ESPN’s Julien Laurens contributed to this report.
