From Neymar to Torres: Paris the regular customer of Barcelona in the mercato | Goal.com

Published on 13 Aug 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

For a decade now, the relationship between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain has shifted from mere mutual dealings into one clear direction. The Parisian club have become the preferred destination for the Catalan side's players, and the Catalan coffers the biggest beneficiary of this continuous flow of money coming from the Parc des Princes.

From the moment PSG dropped the historic Neymar bombshell in the summer of 2017 by paying the release clause, all the way to their most recent agreement to sign Ferran Torres for 50 million euros on 13 August 2026, the French club have pumped a total of 333 million and 650 thousand euros into the Barcelona market. That makes them, without doubt, the club that has invested the most in the Blaugrana's players over the last decade, according to Spain's "Mundo Deportivo".

There had been previous transfers between the two clubs, the most notable being the arrival of the magician Ronaldinho from Paris to Barcelona for 27 million euros in 2003. But the Neymar deal was the real turning point that completely reversed the direction of the compass. 

Since then, the journey has mostly run from Camp Nou to the Parc des Princes and not the other way around.

The Brazilian star's transfer was a defining moment in the history of the transfer market, and it remains to this day the absolute record at 222 million euros. It is a scenario that has repeated itself many times in Barcelona's history when the club sells its most expensive stars against its will.

Think of Luis Suárez Miramontes to Inter Milan in 1961, Diego Maradona to Napoli in 1984, Ronaldo Nazário to Inter in 1997, and Luís Figo to Real Madrid in 2000.

This flow was not limited to the first team. It reached the La Masia academy itself. In 2019, Paris snatched the midfield talent Xavi Simons (16 years old) for just 150 thousand euros as training compensation. 

Rafinha Alcântara followed in 2021 for 3.5 million euros, before the biggest shock came with the departure of the legend Lionel Messi on a free transfer after Barcelona failed to renew his contract.

The blows kept coming. Barcelona Atlètic goalkeeper Arnau Tenas joined for free in 2023 under Luis Enrique's leadership, then Ousmane Dembélé triggered his low release clause of 50 million euros in the same year to join his former coach. 

Last to leave before Ferran was the talent Pedro "Dro" Fernández, for whom Paris paid 8 million euros against his release clause of 6 million, despite his appearances with the first team under Hansi Flick.

Add it all up. From Neymar (222 million) to Dembélé (50 million), Rafinha (3.5 million), Dro (8 million) and on to Ferran Torres (50 million), Paris Saint-Germain have spent more than 333 million euros at Barcelona in just nine years. That confirms them as the permanent and most generous customer in the Barcelona store.

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