Barcelona plan to raise €100m from selling two players in January | OneFootball

Barcelona are already making preparations for the winter transfer window, which opens for business on the 1st of January. There are plans to sign at least one new defender, although there could also be a significant departure or two.

In order for Barcelona to sign a big-name central defender, which is the club’s aim for January, they must sell at least one player, as this would allow the necessary space in their salary cap to be freed up. There have already been multiple candidates identified, with the top ones being full-back pair Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde.

It wasn’t too long ago that Balde and Kounde were Barcelona’s starting left-back and right-back respectively, but both players have fallen down the pecking order in the opening weeks of the 2026-27 season. Their poor performances during the previous campaign were not to Flick’s liking, and instead, the likes of Eric Garcia, Joao Cancelo and Xavi Espart are currently preferred.

Aware that Balde and Kounde are valuable assets whose price will only decrease as they stay on the bench, Barcelona’s idea is to sell both players in January, as per El Nacional. The belief is that each could fetch a transfer fee of €50m, which would allow the Catalans to raise €100m.

Should Barcelona sell Balde and Kounde?

It’s clear that Balde and Kounde are both facing uncertain futures at the Spotify Camp Nou. Given their respective values, it does make sense for Barcelona to look into selling them, although they would be important squad players if they can recover their best form – which will be the key in the lead-up to January.

It remains to be seen how the situations of Balde and Kounde play out over the coming months, but right now, their respective futures as Barcelona players are far from guaranteed.