Barcelona consider leveraging old debt to sign 19-year-old Santos wonderkid – report | OneFootball

Signing a left-back is not one of Barcelona’s priorities for next summer. The position is already covered with Alejandro Balde and Gerard Martin, with Jofre Torrents waiting in the wings.

However, Barça remain attentive to market opportunities that are hard to ignore, and one such chance has presented itself to the Catalans.

Souza to Barcelona on?

As reported already, Barcelona have taken an interest in teenage left-back Joao Victor de Souza, who plays for Santos in Brazil.

Building on that, Joaquim Piera of SPORT reports that Barcelona are working on a strategy to gain an advantage over other suitors for Souza.

Indeed, as per the report, Barcelona have a negotiating asset up their sleeve in the form of the €2.9 million sum that is owed to them by Santos and one they will want to collect at some point.

The amount corresponds to a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling from December 2020 that sided with Barça in one of the disputes with Santos over the transfer of Neymar Jr., completed in May 2013.

Souza is on Barcelona’s radar. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)

Barça are considering using this debt with Santos, who are currently unable to pay it, to block the player and reduce the transfer fee.

In 2021, with Joan Laporta back as president, Santos contacted Barça to craft an agreement that would prevent the Catalans from going to FIFA to request sanctions for non-payment.

It was then agreed that Barça would have priority over two of Santos’ academy players: Kaiky, who was transferred to Almeria in July 2022 for €7 million, and Angelo Gabriel, who committed to Chelsea in 2023 for €15 million and now plays for Al Nassr.

Barcelona are now considering exploring a similar tactic with Souza, who has emerged as one of the standout revelations of the 2025 Brasileirao.

Who is Souza?

Just 19 years old, Souza has been one of the breakout stars of this season in the Brazilian Serie A. The youngster is a bold left-back, the typical product of the Brazilian school: attack-minded, with speed, and capable of covering the entire flank.

Strong and with good height for his position at 1.83 metres, he has optimal physical qualities. So far, he has 36 senior appearances for Santos, in which he has one goal and four assists.

Barcelona have positive reports on the teenage left-back, while Bayern Munich and several clubs from the Italian Serie A are also interested.

Tipped to become a top-level player, it will be interesting to see if Barcelona tie up a deal for Souza.