FC Barcelona: What Does the Future Hold for Barca Young-Gun Cristian Tello?

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The future of Barcelona’s 21-year-old wide forward Cristian Tello has yet to be resolved.

Will he sign an extension?

If he doesn't, Barça will sell him in the January transfer window, and it will be the second time Tello has said adios to the club.

As a teenager, he left Barça for local rivals Espanyol, only to don the Blaugrana shirt again.

This article will examine the transfer rumours surrounding Tello and access his worth to Barcelona.

Cristian Tello's Contractual Conundrum

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Luis F. Rojo at Marca has reported that Cristian Tello and Barcelona are clashing over his buy-out clause:

Tello's agent, José María Orobitg and delegates from Barcelona met last week, but no progress was made. Both parties remain at odds regarding the player's buy-out clause. Right now, negotiations have ground to a halt pending a further meeting. The player's contract is up next June.

Barça place extravagant buy-out clauses on their players to deter opposing clubs from submitting a transfer bid.

 

Barça Footballer	Buy-Out Clause
Lionel Messi	€250 million
Andrés Iniesta	€200 million
Cesc Fàbregas	€200 million
David Villa	€200 million
Dani Alves	€150 million
Pedro	€150 million
Sergio Busquets	€150 million
Alexis Sánchez	€100 million
Javier Mascherano	€100 million
Jordi Alba	€90 million
Thiago	€90 million
Xavi	€80 million
Alex Song	€80 million

 

Why would Tello object to an excessive buy-out clause being inserted into his contract?

Let's say he extends his contract to 2017 with a buy-out clause of €100 million.

In the event that he loses his starting position in 2014 and finds himself on the outer looking in, clubs interested in him would not be able to meet his buy-out clause.

This puts Barça in the driving seat in terms of negotiating his transfer away from the club. If they don't receive any bids that meet their evaluation of him, he would be caught in limbo.  

There's one reason why Tello should worry about his long-term future at the club—Neymar. 

What Cristian Tello Brings to Barcelona

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It's February 4, 2012 and Real Sociedad are facing Barcelona at Camp Nou. 

Pep Guardiola has given starts to Cristian Tello, Isaac Cuenca, Jonathan dos Santos and Thiago.

Tello is the first to make an impression as he outpaces Carlos Martínez and places the ball underneath the onrushing Claudio Bravo. 

Tello goal, Lionel Messi assist and Barça are 1-0 up after nine minutes. 

During the UEFA Champions League, Daniel Schwaab was too slow to catch Tello as the Spaniard raced deep into Bayer Leverkusen's box and finish elegantly to put Barcelona up 4-0.

Seven minutes later, he took advantage of Bernd Leno's mistake and scored again. 

Unlike Schwaab, in a 0-0 draw against Villarreal, Gonzalo Rodríguez was cunning enough to rugby tackle Tello, who would have been through on goal. 

Unai Emery's inability to stop Tello from running Spartak Moscow rugged was a primary factor why Barça won 3-2. 

The point of these examples is to show that Tello's electrifying pace makes him such an invaluable player to have. 

 

Since 2011-12 La Liga Season	League Goals	Shots	Shots Per Goal
Tello	5	28	5.6
Pedro	6	56	9.3
Alexis Sánchez	12	53	4.4
David Villa	10	43	4.3

 

Tello not only creates separation from his marker but also shoots with both feet. What a wonderful combination of athleticism and technical brilliance. 

It remains to be seen if he has reached his ceiling. If that isn't the case, Tello could develop into a world-class wide forward, who scores 15-20 goals and provides 10-15 assists per season.  

What If Cristian Tello Leaves?

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Ferran Martínez at Mundo Deportivo states Cristian Tello's current buy-out clause is €10 million.

If Stewart Downing is worth £20 million [€24.7 million], then Tello's transfer value should be around €25 million. 

It would be a steal for a club to sign Tello for €10 million. Let's look at the clubs that could be in the running for his signature. 

 

AC Milan

He won't be playing on the left side because of Stephan El Shaarawy, however, Tello should make an easy transition on the right.

Question is: Can he beat out football's version of the coltellino svizzero in Urby Emanuelson? 

 

Arsenal (via talkSPORT)

Even if Theo Walcott decides to leave, Tello will have his work cut trying to beat out Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski for a wide role. 

Serge Gnabry's upside is too hard to ignore.

Even though Ryo Miyaichi's growth is being stunted at Wigan Athletic, he is still a work in progress. Same can be said about Joel Campbell, who has been playing out wide for Real Betis, though he is better as a No. 9. 

 

Liverpool (via The Daily Mail)

What happens when Fabio Borini returns? 

José Enrique turned on beast mode as a left attacking midfielder against Wigan Athletic. Then there's Raheem Sterling, one of the best performing teenagers in the world, who is a much better defender than Tello. 

Sterling averages 2.2 tackles per league game compared to Tello's 0.4. 

Sterling has also played on the right, but when he's on the left, Suso has shown glimpses of class on the right. 

 

Manchester City (via Express.co.uk)

David Silva, Samir Nasri, Mario Balotelli, Aleksandar Kolarov, Scott Sinclair and Maicon are all in contention for a wide role.

If the formation is a 3-5-2, then Tello won't be getting any game time. There are simply too many overpaid players at City for Tello to start week in, week out. 

 

What is your opinion of Tello? If he hasn't extended his contract going into the January transfer window, should Barcelona sell him?

Please comment below.

 

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