Real Madrid’s business model is beginning to be replicated by several clubs, which see it as a gold mine for financing high-profile signings. For several years now, Real Madrid has specialized in selling players from its youth academy at a good price, a strategy that always guarantees future revenue.
Their model is based on selling players who don’t have a spot on Real Madrid’s first team and finding them a home at a club where they can increase in value. That increase in value benefits Real Madrid, which is guaranteed to receive 50% of the final amount from a future sale. This passive income fosters a healthy business model and has helped Real Madrid add several stars across every position on the field.
Examples such as Victor Muñoz, who was sold by Osasuna to Liverpool for 40 million, require the Navarran club to pay €20 million to the Madridistas. Mario Gila, Álvaro Rodríguez… And the list goes on and on… Barcelona, like other clubs such as Athletic Club, has begun to adopt this approach.
At the same time, this strategy gives young players a better opportunity to develop their careers. Instead of remaining on the bench or being stuck in a reserve team, they can move to a club where they are trusted and given regular minutes. If they perform well, their market value can increase significantly, creating another financial opportunity for the club that originally developed them.
Jofre Torrents has already set off for Amsterdam to join Ajax for a fee of 5 million for 50% of his rights. In other words, if Ajax wanted to acquire full ownership of the player’s rights, it would have to pay an additional amount to be negotiated between the two clubs.
In the coming days, Tommy Marqués’s transfer to Sporting de Braga for 10 million plus 2 in variables will be made official. Barça will retain 50% of any future transfer fee and will also receive a substantial sum for a player who has barely played two games. Barça has already used this formula with Ez Abde, Trincao…
Next on the list could be Marc Casadó. Over the past year, the La Masía product has been a shadow of the player he was in the early months of the 2024–2025 season. Flick has already told him to leave the club, but so far, the offers he has received haven’t met with his approval. Barcelona is expected to receive around 20 million.
Without a doubt, it’s a smart move to continue this trend. You secure revenue from a player who has cost you almost nothing, since you signed him when he was young, and if he succeeds, that revenue can be a huge help—especially since he wouldn’t have had a spot on your first team anyway. Some accuse Real Madrid’s business model of abusing its position of power and claim that the intermediary club barely makes a profit despite making a significant investment.
Florentino Pérez has shown everyone that, when it comes to business, he’s a thousand steps ahead of everyone else. He was the first to realize that, even if the club doesn’t rely on its youth academy players, these young athletes will still be very useful for generating revenue and making it possible to sign players who are destined to leave their mark on Real Madrid’s history.
Now, the entire European soccer world is following in Real Madrid’s footsteps in the search for a healthy financing model—one never before seen in the beautiful game.
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