Barcelona confirmed the signing of Martin Braithwaite on Thursday from Leganes thanks to the emergency signing green light given by the Spanish FA.
With Ousmane Dembele ruled out for the rest of the season, Barcelona were given 15 days to find a replacement striker as they had already let Carles Perez go to Roma and Abel Ruiz go to Braga in the January Transfer window.
Barcelona paid the 18 million Euro buy-out fee for Martin Braithwaite and have him on contract with the club until 30 June 2024. They also added a 300 million Euro buy-out clause to his contract.
Martin Braithwaite was quick to express his joy at joining the club as he went on to say:
“My ambition has always been to play at this level and when you persevere and you are positive, things end up happening,”
“I am very happy to be here because, as a footballer, it is one of the greatest things that can happen to you to play for the best club in the world.”
Braithwaite’s former club who are currently sitting one spot above the bottom of the La Liga table were not happy with having lost their top goal scorer r this season whilst trying to fight their way out of relegation.
They are now left without a top striker and are hoping that the Spanish FA will allow them to also make an emergency signing to replace Braithwaite.
Martin Ortega who is the chief executive for Leganes went on to say:
“We believe the settlement is unfair,”.
Barcelona FC president Josep Bartomeu also supported Leganes in their hopes to make an emergency signing having been in their shoes and caused their current plight, stating:
“Barcelona’s attitude has been correct.”
“We paid the clause in accordance with the regulations, but we think it should be revised because it is not fair that Leganes cannot therefore recruit.
