Barcelona consider leveraging old debt to sign 19-year-old Santos wonderkid - report | Barca Universal

"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."

"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,"

Barcelona consider the left-back position covered by Alejandro Balde and Gerard Martin, with Jofre Torrents as backup, so signing a left-back is not a priority. The club remain attentive to market opportunities and have taken an interest in 19-year-old Joao Victor de Souza of Santos. Barcelona hold a €2.9 million claim against Santos stemming from a December 2020 Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling related to the Neymar transfer. Barcelona are considering using that unpaid debt to reduce a transfer fee or block the player. A 2021 agreement gave Barcelona priority over Santos academy talents such as Kaiky and Angelo Gabriel. Souza is an attack-minded, speedy Brazilian left-back.

Read at Barca Universal