Barcelona and Real Betis to co-sign defender in repeat of 2020 deal

Back in 2020, Barcelona and Real Betis co-signed Emerson Royal from Atletico Mineiro, and they are set to close a similar deal five years later – and on this occasion, it will be for another right-back.

Last summer, Barcelona made a late attempt to sign Marc Pubill. The 22-year-old was off the back of an impressive tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games, but despite an agreement on personal terms being in place, a deal with Almeria could not be done.

But that did not dampen their spirits, with talks having resumed in recent months. And Pubill now looks set to become a Barcelona player, although he would not only be owned by the Catalans.

As reported by ED (via Sport), Betis are close to agreeing a deal with Almeria to sign Pubill. As part of the arrangement, they and Barcelona would pay the same fee to take 50% each of the defender’s rights.

Betis would be the team to have Pubill on their books for the 2025-26 season, which would solve their problem of signing a new right-back. As for Barcelona, they would have the option to buy the remaining 50% rights that they wouldn’t own at some stage in the future, which they did with Emerson in 2021 before selling him to Tottenham Hotspur.

Barcelona have also hoped to sign a right-back this summer, but with this Pubill deal, they may decide against going for another player. They have Jules Kounde as their regular starter, while Hansi Flick also has Eric Garcia and Hector Fort as backup options.

It remains to be seen how much Pubill costs. Barcelona have money to spend on signings due to the signing-on fee they received from their new agreement with Nike, so they can complete this and the other deals they have in the pipeline for Nico Williams and Roony Bardghji.