Barcelona players' release clauses: Are they all worth it? Who is affordable?

#2 Debatable Release Clauses

Ivan Rakitic has a contract till 2021

Ivan Rakitic: €125m

The Croatian midfielder has had his ups and downs at Barcelona ever since moving to the club in 2014. He has won everything with the club but has often struggled when the formation and role doesn't suit him.

Rakitic still has a lot to offer Barcelona and, in the right role, can thrive for another three or four years at least. All he needs is one good season to justify that release clause.

Aleix Vidal: €60m

Once on his way to forging what could have been a memorable career at the Camp Nou, a leg break sadly derailed his dreams and soon he became second-choice behind players who weren't even specialist wingers.

This season should have been his chance for redemption but he hasn't played near enough games to justify that release clause - yet.

Paulinho: €120m

Arriving at the Camp Nou to a lot of criticism (including from yours truly), Paulinho has answered his critics and slapped them silly with his performances this season. Valverde has utilised him well and converted him into a goalscoring midfielder who is only behind Messi and Suarez in the scoring charts.

Paulinho is Barcelona's third-highest goalscorer this season

€120m can seem a little steep but should another club use him the same way Valverde has, it could be a decent price - but only if they sign him this summer. Once he is past 30, it may not be ideal seeing how he polarises opinions with his performances at times.

Rafinha: €60m

The meniscus injury that required surgery seriously hampered Rafinha's progress at Barcelona who have now sent him on loan at Inter Milan to get a few minutes under his belt.

But the Brazilian has age on his side and, at 24, can still revive his career at the Camp Nou. If he can get back to the same levels of fitness that saw him play 24 Liga games in 2014/15, he could do well.

Denis Suarez: €50m

At €50m, Denis Suarez is actually the cheapest player at Barcelona. The club themselves seemed clueless about what to do with him; first signing him, then selling him to Villarreal before triggering his buy-back clause to bring him back.

But he is nothing more than a bit-part player in this team, making more substitute appearances than starts. The club's hope was that he would step into Iniesta's shoes down the line but with no real progress, they eventually bought Philippe Coutinho.

Jasper Cillessen: €60m

Poor Cillessen was probably enticed by Barcelona when he signed but had no hope of ever replacing Marc-Andre ter Stegen as the no.1 at the club. Cillessen isn't a bad goalkeeper, it's just that his opportunities are limited and no club will break the transfer record (for a goalkeeper) to sign a second-choice goalkeeper.