Paris Saint-Germain has successfully signed Barcelona‘s highly regarded young talent, Dro Fernández, after agreeing to pay slightly more than his €6 million ($7 million) release clause to the LaLiga club.
The 18-year-old Fernández surprised Barça this month by announcing his intention to leave the team in January to seek more playing time.
During his presentation with PSG, Dro expressed, “I’m very happy and very proud to be joining Paris Saint-Germain. This is a moment of immense pride for me and my family. I’m incredibly excited and motivated to play and to give everything for this shirt.”
Many of Europe’s elite clubs were vying for his signature, but PSG emerged victorious in the pursuit, largely due to coach Luis Enrique’s persuasive efforts to finalize the deal.
According to sources at ESPN, Luis Enrique, who shares an agent with Fernández, Iván de la Peña, spoke to the player via phone and was instrumental in convincing him to make the leap to France.
Fernández’s decision has not sat well with Barça’s coach Hansi Flick, who had placed significant trust in the young attacking midfielder, often drawing comparisons to stars like Thiago Alcantara and Pedri.
Flick included Fernández in the preseason tour to Asia, where he scored against Daegu FC, and has since given him his debut in both LaLiga and the Champions League this season.
Following Fernández’s announcement of his intent to leave, Flick expressed his desire for players who are fully committed, implying that “external influences” may have played a role in the player’s decision.
However, sources revealed to ESPN that Fernández felt there wasn’t a clear path to regular first-team football at Barça, particularly within Flick’s 4-2-3-1 formation, which features Frenkie de Jong and Pedri anchoring the midfield.
In Flick’s setup, Fernández would ideally flourish as a No. 10, a role that has seen Fermín López, Dani Olmo, and Raphinha occupying most of the minutes in that area, while he prefers to play as a No. 8 in the long term.
Despite making five appearances for the first team this season, he’s only accumulated 148 minutes on the pitch, with his last appearance being a substitute role against Atlético Madrid on December 2.
Like Flick, the club was taken aback by Fernández’s choice, with expectations that he would renew his contract to include a higher release clause as he turned 18.
He marked his 18th birthday on January 12, with teammate Raphinha surprising him with a cake on the flight home from the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia; however, that will now be his final moment in Barça colors.
ESPN’s Julien Laurens contributed to this report.