Barça open up about Dro Fernandez’s exit and agreement with PSG

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·30 de enero de 2026

Barça open up about Dro Fernandez’s exit and agreement with PSG

At 18 years old, Dro, a midfielder trained at La Masia, left FC Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain, despite a sports project presented as structuring by the Catalan management. Questioned on TNT Sports, Deco (Blaugrana sporting director) delivered a speech revealing the discomfort at Barcelona. More than just a transfer, this departure highlights a profound evolution in European football.

Deco "It’s not important for us to know who his agent is, what matters is the player’s profile"

"Dro is a boy who turned 16 in January 2024, in March he signed his first professional contract, and during this period he came to the first team two or three times. It’s not important for us to know who his agent is, what matters is the player’s profile. He had already come to train with the first team at the beginning of last season, he had impressed Flick. And despite the presence of other players in his position, the coach showed him affection.

Deco "If I were young and at Barcelona, I wouldn’t leave"

In Dro's case, he had a six million euro clause, like most players signing their first pro contract. All I could do was explain our project for him and the context that would allow him to progress. The coach helped him, made him train, and took him to pre-season. The coach's disappointment comes a bit from there. With all due respect to PSG, which is an exceptional club where I have friends like Luis Campos. If I were young and at Barcelona, I wouldn’t leave. But everyone makes their choices, we all know the influence that exists. We don’t know if it comes from the parents, but that’s his business.

Deco "It’s not a financial issue, we reached an agreement with Paris thanks to our good relations"

It’s not a financial issue, we reached an agreement with Paris thanks to our good relations, but Paris had no influence on his decision. I hope he will be happy, that he will progress as a player. Because rushing things here or in Paris would be detrimental. Sometimes, the methods and people involved are not the right ones. But we shouldn’t make a drama out of it, he was a player among others in the first team, he made this decision and that’s it."

Deco’s speech conveys neither anger nor resentment, but a lucid disillusionment. FC Barcelona struggles with these early departures because they strike at the very heart of its identity. La Masia is not just a training center, it’s a foundational story, built on patience, transmission, and the idea that a young player, if he waits, will eventually have his place. Seeing Dro leave after tasting the first team, impressed by Flick, and integrated into the camps, gives the feeling of a cycle interrupted before it really began.

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But the football of 2026 is no longer one where Barcelona held the exclusivity of “good development.” PSG, long caricatured as a club blocking its young players, has changed its approach. Playing time, responsibility, gradual integration: Paris now offers a credible, clear, and competitive framework. Dro didn’t flee the training, he chose another path of progression. The discomfort at Barcelona is real, but it mostly says this: La Masia remains a reference, but it is no longer alone in the market of the future.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.